Hybrid Magic
by Vohira
Summary: After his third year Harry Potter expected a quiet and short summer at his relatives. What he got, turned his world on its head. Now it was just a question of what he's going to do about it? And where would this suddenly twisted path lead?
1. Chapter 1: Welcome to Jurassic World

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing you recognize from JP and HP franchises.

 **A/N:** A plot bunny decided there were not enough stories like the one below. It has not been beta'ed. Expect slow updates... Anyhow on with the show!

 **Edited 6.09.2018:** Updated with a beta read version.

* * *

She looked down at the scrawny two-leg juvenile. Knocked on his back and staring at her, breathing heavily, reeking of fear. Although… his stench was far less overwhelming than she expected, than she was accustomed to smelling when her prey faced their death; it intrigued her.

He hissed with panic colouring his voice, not unlike the ground dwelling, legless prey she'd snapped up a few times when she was younger. What was more, she could almost make out a few of his warped words. Curiouser and curiouser.

And his smell - besides the fear - was unlike anything she encountered so far during her short freedom…It was subtly changing all the time. Obviously, the scent was primarily, at first, at least, small-pinkish-hairless-two legs; but there was also something that reminded her of herself and her long dead sibling. yet...

She leaned in closer sniffing deeply, brushing her muzzle across his body. He stiffened at the first contact; if she could, she would have chuckled. From this close she could hear his racing heart and it was clear to her that he was close to blind panic. Something akin to a gust of hot air splashed along her muzzle, the fallen leaves around them blasting away. She snorted and shook her head as the tingling sensation passed.

The sickly juvenile didn't move, however his fear was lessening.

She could tell now, the smell of old wounds. It impressed her in a way that such a weak hatchling survived that long when her sister hadn't.

Suddenly a thought entered her mind, as strange as it was to her, it it held an undeniable allure. In a swift move, she trapped the strange youngling beneath her left, clawed hand. He struggled for a moment before realizing the futility of it, settling on observing her with an air of resignation.

With one of her right foreclaws, she pierced her skin drawing blood and presented the bloodied claw to him before taking a lick. Then she dipped it again in the crimson liquid and moved it towards him, the juvenile began making distressed sounds but she just put more pressure on him, forcing him to cooperate. She could see the grimace on his flat muzzle, as he ingested her blood. She dipped the claw one last time in her blood, and pierced one of his old wounds, that something whispered to her was of great significance.

His pained screams startled her enough to back away from him, for a moment she wanted to kill him, him being so loud was a threat to her - other two-legs were hunting her after all - even in the dense jungle. But the same force that drove her to do what she did, stopped her and made her watch.

* * *

Harry sat in the car while his uncle drove them to the airport. He was doing his damndest to ignore his cousin's grumbling as the obese squealer lost a game on his smartphone. Closing his eyes, Harry tried to wrap his head around his current predicament.

After returning from his third year at Hogwarts, he was counting on a more or less quiet, short summer at the Dursleys. What he got was a surprise trip to Jurassic World. Of course, he'd heard about it when it opened a few years back, everyone who so much as had a toe in the muggle world heard about it. And, like any other kid, he wanted to go there.

But not like this. He was essentially unwanted on this trip; his uncle made that clear enough when the Walrus locked all his magical possessions in Harry's old cupboard.

So here he was on the grand trip that all kids wanted to make, only for it to be possibly spoiled by his…family. Knowing them, they got him the cheapest options on anything they could. He snorted, it was a small miracle they even dragged him with them.

The speculative, angry look Vernon shot him in the mirror was unmissable, so Harry wisely decided to not aggravate the man further and decided to be as silent as possible.

Well, that, and he was considering if it'd be worth it tell them about Sirius being out, free, and quite mad. If nothing else, it'd be good for a laugh and probably funny enough to fuel a patronus or two.

Surprisingly it was Petunia that, in her own words, graciously explained why he should be 'forever grateful' they decided to take him with them. As it stood, Harry figured the truth of the situation was that the Dursley's didn't trust him to not level the house or turn all door knobs into dormice or something equally as banal and stupid.

Before he knew it they reached the airport. The boarding procedure was long and tedious, so the black haired wizard mostly tuned it out in favor of observing everything around him. Harry may have lived in the muggle world, but he'd only done and seen what his aunt and uncle allowed him to experience. Which equated to not much.

"Boy! Boy!? Are you listening?!", the furious whispering and the heavy hand on his shoulder finally drew his attention.

"Uh, sorry uncle."

"Hmph… now, hold this. Those are your tickets, you got economy class. Our flight plan is also in there, don't get lost!" the tone of the walrus like man implied what was left unsaid. If he got lost, they sure as hell wouldn't go out of their way to look for him.

Harry sighed as he looked over what he was handed, he was so close to having a family that cared and he still got stuck with…them.

Suffice to say his first experience with muggle flight was less than stellar. Maybe it was a smidgen more comfortable than riding a broom, but the inability to switch places and a running, and therefore losing, lottery on who was sitting next to him coloured the experience. With that said, he'd certainly had worse food. Bland but filling was always welcome in his opinion.

By the time they'd reached New York to switch flights Harry was contemplating the pros and cons of suffocating the snoring, middle aged man that sat to his left. It wasn't that the man was just rude, but he was also unwashed and flatulent. Harry did his best to think about dinosaurs and greasy, unhealthy, but delicious park food.

Once more on the ground there was a five hour layover until the next leg of their flight. So, not having much choice ,Harry located his relatives. Already at one of the restaurants. His aunt spotted him first and gently nudged Vernon.

"Right then boy, I don't care what you do for the next five hours, but don't get into trouble and no funny business!" The rich sauce from the steak his uncle was eating dripped from his moustache as Vernon spoke. With a pained expression the glutton withdrew his wallet from his pants pocket and handed Harry a fifty pound bill. "Get going."

In a slight schock Harry took the money and quickly left. When he lost the sight of his relatives the young wizard rationalized that, considering their obsession with normality, they'd be a touch more pleasant than usual. If only to avoid awkward questions. He grinned. Maybe this trip would be enjoyable…

After his first visit to a fastfood restaurant, and an hour of wandering around the airport later, Harry came upon a peculiar sight. A revolving door with a golden sign that depicted two crossed wands. Harry had to blink and look around to confirm that no one paid any attention to the doors.

'It's just like the Leaky Cauldron, I suppose.'

Without much thought he entered, and was welcomed to a sight of two men, dressed in black suits and wearing, oddly enough, fedoras and trench coats, sitting behind a desk. On both sides of the desk stood… things. They looked like muggle metal detectors but with, at least as far as he could tell, runes engraved on their surfaces.

"Welcome to the Duty Free Zone. Please prepare your wand and boarding pass, or international porteky ticket, for inspection if you wish to shop here." The one to the left, and that really was the only way to differentiate between what Harry figured were magical customs officers, said in a bored voice.

"I don't have a wand…" Harry's mouth opened before he could think and he cringed at the suddenly very interested looks the men gave him.

"You're kind of young to be wandering alone. I'm officer Maxwell, MACUSA Auror. What's your name kid?" The man who'd been so bored just a second ago now seemed quite alert, and more than a touch wary.

"Uh…Harry Potter, sir." His answer was meet with two disbelieving stares until the eyes of both men fell on his scar.

"Now that's something you don't see everyday, huh, Max?" The until now silent auror spoke with a whisper, his voice rough and scratchy. "Still, you have to have someone of age with you?"

"My muggle relatives, we're waiting for a flight."

"That explains quite a bit…" The auror, Maxwell, muttered to himself. As if noticing whom he'd been speaking to, he started a bit and turned back to look at Harry again.

"Anyway, Mr. Potter if you don't have a wand with you just step through this detector and prepare your boarding pass. That is if you want to shop here?"

That got Harry thinking.

"Is there a Gringotts branch here, by chance?"

"Yes, there is. Just a small branch though. No deposits, only withdrawals."

"OK then. I think I'll spend some time here… But, uh, where exactly is the bank?"

After stepping through the detectors and confirming he didn't have a wand on him the aurors were more than happy to point him towards bank branch.

As it turns out, goblins were unfriendly no matter where they worked. Something that somewhat surprised Harry. But, considering what Hagrid, of all people, had said about them, he supposed it was ultimately something he should have expected. He left with a wallet and a surprisingly muggle looking credit card linked to his vault.

The card and thief-proof wallet were supposedly free of charge…until he heard that every payment with it had a two galleon fee. Harry was tempted to complain about that, but when the goblin sneered at him he changed his mind. Harry figured he could probably abuse his fame and piss off the entirety of the Goblin Nation in the process. But considering Gringotts held all of his wealth. Well, it probably wasn't worth it. That the card was supposed to be able was a nice perk, afterall.

Quickly forgetting about the goblins and their greed, Harry started wandering from store to store. There weren't that many shops to begin with, but the most useful was the luggage one. He got himself a dark red and black sports backpack, with a low grade expansion charm and notice-me-not built into it.

Now, while he didn't exactly care too much about his clothes, going to what amounted to a tropical island resort in hand-me-downs bothered him. Especially now that he had easy access to the money in his vault.

While he spent almost an hour shopping for at least some clothes, he didn't notice the stares he was getting from the staff. All of them were appalled at what they were seeing and some were deducing, but beyond being more helpful than was strictly required, they really couldn't do a thing. A scrawny, and quite British, ragamuffin was a touch outside the reach of the most concerned of store clerks.

Harry was kind of disappointed at the lack of actually meaningful magical shops. He kind of hoped for a wand shop, if only so he wouldn't be entirely defenseless. Although he did get a bracelet made of twined, black leather strap that held charms that helped keep you comfortable when journeying in the tropics.

Deciding he'd probably want at least some reading material for the rest of his journey, Harry also bought two books on native north and south american magics. If only because he held no illusions about his ability to keep anything but a book to himself.

Still, they looked interesting and if he had to guess from the pictures in the one about south america, probably banned in UK. Or they'd at least they would be found in the restricted section of Hogwarts' library.

When he met with his relatives, only five minutes before boarding for their next flight began, Vernon took a look at his new clothes and scowled but said nothing; Petunia - after giving him a look over - gave him a sharp nod. Dudley barely registered Harry's existence with his eyes glued to his smartphone's screen. Something Harry figured was for the best. Still, the questions would come later. Though, that didn't mean Harry needed to actually give any answers.

His second flight was much better, his books were charmed to look like nondescript fantasy novels, so he had something to do and his neighbours this time around were tolerable.

The next stop in Harry's journey was San Jose in Costa Rica. Unfortunately, his stop here turned out to be a disappointment. Admittedly, that was mostly due to the language barrier, it was still a beautiful place. However it was at this point that the fact he was actually going to be going to the Jurassic World became truly believable.

When he and the Dursleys exited the airport they were greeted by a sight of a fleet of busses bearing the Jurassic World logo. Once they were onboard and buckled in the young woman that was their guide gave them a speech about how they will be transferring to a ferry in few hours and then finally reaching the Park. She also handed out some kind of waiver. Harry didn't read the whole thing, but was quite aware that he had to sign it if he wanted to get into the Park.

While the landscape passed outside the windows, she talked about the Park's history and also its founder John Hammond. Harry was fascinated by it, his relatives were not.

* * *

Harry stood on the prow of the ferry as it docked. He had been mesmerized by the sea, but the sight before him made him excited. After almost three days of journey from London, they had finally made it.

He probably would have missed his group's guide if it wasn't for his uncle taking up enough space to act like a buoy in a crowd.

The monorail ride had been thrilling as he caught glimpses of the larger herbivores and even a few smaller breeds watching the train with wary eyes.

His hotel room was the best he ever had, as it turned out even the cheapest on this particular island, but was still luxurious.

Unknown to his relatives, whom had chosen to get Harry room just for himself, the first thing he did was upgrade his Park pass to V.I.P status. It was far from cheap,roughly about the cost of a year's worth of school supplies, but it was worth it. Lines were hell and he was here to have fun!

For now, he decided to be selfish; he was going to be having the best summer in his short life.

* * *

Breathing hard, Harry came to the conclusion that this was the worst summer ever and it had just barely started. He didn't know what started this disaster, but he knew his infamus luck has struck again the instant his gyrosphere played the warning message.

He held his breath when he heard branches snapping. Whatever was stalking him…was not a dinosaur he had ever heard of. Its pale hide was unnerving, but it was the reptilian eyes, those glowing crimson embers, that terrified him. It reminded him far, far too much of the cruel… thing he'd seen when the dementors had been near. The flashes of a sadistic laugh and a green light.

The black haired wizard thought himself lucky he'd listened to his instincts. As soon as the ball started getting bogged down in the terrain, he'd slipped out of his gyrosphere. Moments later, the creature broke through the nearby tree line and decided to kick it like a football. Having flown in more than one Scottish storm, Harry just thanked God that he'd not lost his lunch at the sight of the beast crushing the ball like a bug.

Now he was cowering behind a tree in a tropical jungle, playing hide-and-seek with something that could swallow him whole. And seemed to be of the disposition to play with him first.

'At least the Basilisk had the decency to just try and kill me.'

After more than five minutes of silence, he took a peek in the direction he'd last heard movement. There was nothing there and with a quiet sigh he decided to move.

Even his seeker reflexes couldn't help him, when he didn't even see the attack.

In an instant he was on his back, the wind knocked out of him. What's more, he was practically blind; his glasses lost during his abrupt flight.

Still, he could see the thing was towering above him. The stench of death, rotting meat and dried blood, rolled over him.

Idly, in the back of his brain, he remembered Fluffy and the great bleeding snake from his second year both stunk like this.

He had to do something, but running was probably the most worthless option. What with the however many god damned tons of apex predator pinning him to the ground.

 _"I wish you no harm, great hunter."_ imagining a snake to speak Parseltongue to was a bit tricky in his current situation, but he managed. Survival was a hell of a motivator.

 _"Let me go, let there be peace between us."_

Harry froze when it leaned forward and began sniffing him. The worst thing about it all was that even with having fought a bloody basilisk, this was still, by far, the most terrifying thing he'd ever experienced.. At least then he had his wand, a sword, and Fawkes. Briefly he closed his eyes, wishing desperately for the thing to not harm him. An image of happy looking Sirius popped into his mind. He would never get the chance to have a family after all...

No, he would not give up without a fight! The young wizard pushed with his will, screaming at his magic to do something, anything! Was will not the most important thing when using magic!? He wanted the thing to let him go, to not harm him, so that he could see his only living family!

And then his vision flickered. Something..something passed between the beast and the wizard and Harry felt light headed and was seeing spots.

Before he could react he was pushed deeper into the ground, the thing's claws making sure he was held fast.

"FUCK! Come on! Let me go!" Harry fought with everything he had, desperately struggling to get out from underneath the clawed hand, but it proved to be useless. When it growled, Harry stopped, looking up at the monster that was gonna snap up the Boy-Who-Got-Eaten. He just snorted, staring up at his soon to be killer.

What he saw made him pause. It injured itself only to lick the blood form it's claw.

When the newly bloodied claw came closer and closer to his mouth he began to loudy protest gain. He didn't know what force possesed the great being, but the thing wanted him to drink it's blood, something he was not going to allow.

One thing stood out to him, a tidbit of knowledge from his books purchased in New York.

Every magical community knew, on some level at least, that blood was the most powerful medium available to magicals. A few societies had embraced it to such a great degree that even the muggles used it in their religious practices. It was powerful, simple and wild… everything the modern magical society shunned.

However when the creature holding him down pressed harder, almost painfully so he, admitted defeat and opened his mouth. Whatever it was going to do was better than being popped like an overripe grape. Thick, coppery blood filled his mouth. Harry was surprised at the volume of it and, to his growing horror, he had to swallow before he choked on it. But it was not the end, when he felt a claw pierce his skin on his forehead and his world exploded in hot, searing pain.

* * *

She didn't understand what she was seeing. While the two-leg juvenile screamed, something like a dark mist rose from him and dispersed with an ear piercing wail. At the same time though, the human screams changed into something more beastly, something she knew.

The Indominus Rex approached the fallen two-legs carefully, now that all of the comotion ended, and silence reigned once more. What she found froze her in place, her mind racing.

 _"Hatchling?"_ Slowly she started to sniff at him again. His smell changed… No, it had stopped changing; like it finally decided to be something. And now it was hers-but-not with a hint of two-legs. Excitement began to grow in her as she thoroughly inspected him. She found no wounds, only scars, and she noticed that he was a bit bulkier than she was when she was still young. His quills were also darker, pitch black even.

In her excitement she forgot about her plan to hunt more two-legs for how they imprisoned her. For how they treated her and the Little One…

 _"Bloody hell my head hurts…"_ The groans and soft growls from the young not-two-legs made her pay attention. She decided to give him time, to see what he would do. The Indominus crouched and then laid down with her head facing the young one; observing, watching, waiting.

Harry woke up with a groan and a pounding headache, he cursed silently, before remembering where he was and what probably caused said headache. He opened his eyes and almost immediately closed them. His vision was almost painfully sharp, a first for him, and the colours were all wrong somehow.

He took a deep breath and almost choked on new, strong smells.

 _"What the hell?"_ The young wizard opened his eyes once more, slowly this time. The moment he saw a pale something in his vision, where his nose was supposed to be, he knew he was in deep trouble. Even more so, when he noticed the beast that had just a moment ago been force feeding him her blood just… laying before him. Eerily enough, reminding him of a curious cat.

Deciding he should probably make the first move, he spoke, his own voice somewhat shocking him. _"Easy now, just let's be calm and go our own way…"_

 _"Why would hatchling want to go alone? It's not safe."_

The feminine voice was so startling, he jumped back with a small, animalistic shriek. Harry was expecting a lot of things where magic was involved, and this had signs of magic all over it, but it was quickly climbing to the top spot on his 'weird shit' list. And after spending three years at a magical school, facing death, possession, and/or daemonic entities spawned from human misery and suffering that was a long, long list.

With a grunt He managed to twist himself so he was now laying on his belly; letting him look at himself as much as he could. What he saw made him realize just how screwed he was.

" _It's like some twisted animagus transformation._ " He, maybe, wasn't the most studious person. But after seeing McGonagall turning into a cat in his first year, and Sirius last year, he researched that topic somewhat. To top it all off, when Lupin explained that all of the Marauders were animagi, well, Harry had given serious consideration to learning the magic needed himself.

And, even with his limited knowledge, he was painfully aware that he knew next to nothing about this particular form. Why that was important had to do with the fact that methods involved may vary, quite wildly, however every source he read stated that the wizard must understand what he was turning into. That understanding could be gained in many ways, most commonly by simple study or through the use of certain potions.

Without the knowledge of his form he was stuck. Well. Not technically. But Harry had become quite fond of having all of his insides on the inside. Splinching didn't even begin to cover what could happen.

Honestly, it was actually pretty simple. The animagus transformation was like a very complicated mathematical equation that, when put into practice, could be fueled by magic and used to transform the witch or wizard in question. And he was missing half of it.

Harry looked back at the large, pale predator before him. Simple logic, something hammered into him by Hermione, stated that he was most likely the same species as… whatever the other creature was. That fact was supported by the similarity of what he could see and, well. The blood magic from earlier.

Which begged the question. Was the big lizard, somehow, a magical creature?

She even smelled of 'female-family-friend'. Deciding to role with what were most likely his new instincts, Harry, slowly, stood up and began to, again, slowly, approach the larger dinosaur, taking deep breaths as he approached. Thankfully, she didn't even growl.

If nothing else, she could help him understand and learn about what he turned into. The question was, would he survive the lessons? The wizard in dinosaur skin snorted, time to be a Gryffindor again.

 _"Young one done thinking?"_ Her interest was piqued as a noticeable resolve began to show in the emerald eyes of the not-two-legs… no that wasn't right. He was like her now, she would need to come up with a name for him.

 _"Show me how to be like you."_

Those few words of his caused her no small amount of joy, it would again be like when Little One lived. But this time she would make sure her hatchling survived! The Indominus tilted her head to the side in thought. Her hatchling? She growled softly in approval of that thought. She got up, ready to teach her Green-Eyes to move, to walk, to hunt!

" _Come then, we must move. Two-legs think they can hunt us. But they are prey like all others._ " She nudged his smaller body with her snout awkwardly. She was a bit unsure on how to show anything other than anger.

Harry quickly translated her words. So they were being hunted by the park's ACU, whom Harry had seen while wandering about the Park earlier in the day. What's more, she wasn't above killing, and presumably eating, humans, too.

'Joy oh joy.'

With her nudging him he managed to actually do more than inch forward, actually figuring out how to work with his center of balance.

 _"Watch and follow."_ She started moving deeper into the jungle and after a few steps she stopped and looked behind. When she saw Green-Eyes clumsily mimic her gait a rumble of approval left her throat.

Both of them were long gone when the ACU team lead by Hamada managed to track one of the kids that was missing after the alert was sent out. They found someone's crushed, and slightly bloody, gyrosphere and confirmed it to be Potter's. After that, it was a simple matter of following a trail of crushed plant life and track him all the way to where they were now. But beside the signs of the I-Rex having been here, they found nothing and the trail became confusing, according to their resident tracker.

"Command this is Hamada, no sign of the asset or the kid. What should we do now?"

"The tracking beacon is still active, follow it. Assume the kid... died, but keep your eyes open nonetheless. Mr. Grady and Ms. Dearing went after her nephews, so they're not your task anymore. I'll personally handle the boy's family." Hamada was only a touch surprised that it was Masrani's voice that answered in his earpiece.

"You heard the man, move out."

As they moved further into the jungle, Hamada turned on his wrist display. It looked like their target was stationary perhaps a kilometer to their north. Suspicious, considering the fact the beast had been on a rampage. Focused and alert he lead his men through the silent jungle.


	2. Chapter 2: Collision course

**A/N:** Slow updates? I should change that to "irregular". Also thanks all for 100+ favs and now, enjoy!

 **Edited 9.09.2018:** Updated with a beta read version.

* * *

When Albus Dumbledore returned to the Headmaster's apartments, he was deeply tired. The latest ICW session involved a lot of posturing from a newly appointed Greek representative. The brat, only some thirty odd years old, was trying to start a scrap with the Turks over Constantinople. Again.

Fawkes trilled a soothing note from his perch upon seeing his old friend return. What alarmed Albus, however, was that he firebird then give a more impatient and troubled one.

The aged headmaster narrowed his eyes at the phoenix's vocalizations. He had learned to understand his life long friend years ago. Something was not right and demanded his immediate attention. He began with the obvious school business, but there was nothing in his incoming letter box that couldn't be handled later. A quick fire-call to Minerva also assured him it was not an intra school issue.

Fawkes seeing his wizard stumbling around finally had enough and, with an impatient trill, stretched his neck, pointing with his beak in a specific direction.

Albus froze for a moment seeing his companion pointing in the direction of a cabinet holding his more morally questionable devices. When the old wizard opened the cabinet, fear raced through him.

Of the four blood based, spindly, silver instruments that monitored Harry Potter's state only one was still working. The ones monitoring his health, magic and the state of blood wards around Privet Drive were, for all intents and purposes, dead. Only the one showing his location was still working; if only barely. The device indicated his general location to be somewhere in the…Pacific Ocean?

"I'm too old for this… I swear Fleamont, he's worse than James." Dumbledore grumbled, there went his vision of a few slow, relaxing days. Merlin above and Morgana below, Harry had the most improbable luck of anyone, magical or mundane, Albus had ever met.

With a mighty crack of apparition Dumbledore arrived at the doorstep of the Dursley's home. Only to see no lights in the windows, despite it being almost 9 p.m. It was also strangely silent. His next stop was Mrs. Figg's home and after a round of questioning he was left with more questions than answers.

Apparently, Harry left with his relatives some days ago on a trip of some kind. Unexpected but, perhaps, a hopeful sign. All thing considered.

He had some knowledge of Petunia's character from Lily's rants. So there had been some inkling about Harry's home life; when he saw the acceptance letter's address he'd felt a pain in his heart. That night, three years ago, he'd sat by the fireplace in his private quarters nursing a glass of Ogden's Finest Firewhiskey considering his choices up to that point.

When Lily and James died, he had chosen the lesser evil. Or that was what he liked to believe back then. The aged wizard truly thought that Harry being raised away from the spreading hero-worship of the Boy-Who-Lived was for the best. The possibility of erecting blood wards was an added bonus.

The boy, toddler really, had what amounted to cults formed in his name. Tom was...an Evil. Something that would have shattered the spirit of the Wizarding World, if left unchecked. And the fact that a one year old had stopped him, no matter the circumstances, was such a cause for celebration that even the most rational felt wonder at a miracle of magic.

That kind of fame was toxic. An acid against the soul.

Sighing deeply Albus glanced for the last time at the empty, and now unprotected, muggle house before apparating to Diagon Alley.

There was a very slim possibility of finding some kind of trail through Gringotts, despite young Harry's apparent disinterest in his financial affairs. Albus could have gone to the muggle bank he knew the Dursley's had their accounts in, but that would be his last resort. While he was more grounded in the mundane world, he didn't have the necessary know how, or even influence, to simply access protected records. Therefore it would involve a rather generous use of the confundus charm, a number of compulsions, and a finishing touch of obliviation. What's more, with these new 'security cameras' even that might not be enough to keep his actions secret.

And if he of all people was responsible for a breach of the Statue of Secrecy he would be ruined. But he made a promise once to keep the Potter's safe. He had failed twice now, he would not do so for a third time…Even if the fear of ultimate failure grew in his mind, fueled by his growing suspicions about a certain scar.

The lone goblin teller that was unlucky to get a night shift was less than happy to see a wizard walking into their bank. The little monster even ground his teeth seeing who exactly that wizard was.

"Albus Dumbledore, what need do you have of Gringotts at such hour?" Albus stifled a snort. At least the creature was trying to be civil towards him. Of course, it wasn't if the goblins ire was undeserved, per se. He _had_ , had more than a hand in blocking a number of 'reforms' that would have probably given the Goblin Nation another cause to rebel and, subsequently, demand more concessions from the wizards

Honestly, why in the name of all that was good did the Wizengamot think they could win a war against the people who held some ninety odd percent of their societies wealth. Still, he shoved his annoyance down and spoke clearly and politely, if a touch more directly than he'd have been with a human.

"I would like to know when and where, if at all, my ward Harry Potter has made any withdrawals in the past two weeks." It was a fact known to all of the Wizengamot, that years ago he had politically strong armed his way into the position of Harry's guardian with the boy's godparents unavailable at the time. When that particular debate ended, Albus left the political cesspool feeling a few years older.

The middle aged goblin sneered but nonetheless jumped off his stool to begin searching for the appropriate ledger. In no time he came back to his… client.

"Here it is." The goblin, not even bothering to look up at Albus, muttered after a few minutes of flipping pages. "Five days ago Mr. Potter spent some of his gold in New York via Gringotts' All Purpose Credit Card."

Dumbledore couldn't believe his luck.

"Not a day later he spent well over a thousand galleons in some place called Jurassic World." The goblin snorted at the ridiculous name. With a loud bang he closed the ledger and glared at Dumbledore. "Is that all?"

The old wizard cursed inwardly. He knew that name, let it not be said that Dumbledore didn't keep an eye on the muggles own attempts at fooling with what should best be left alone. Albus respected them for their knowledge and ingenuity, but those same two traits often made him also question their sanity. Like the Park that John Hammond wanted to open in the nineties. The one that ended with multiple fatalities and a number of invasive, if prehistoric, species migrating to a number of different islands.

Still, where the man failed, his company succeeded. Even if it _was_ with outside help.

"That is all, thank you for your time."

With a swish of his dark blue robes, Dumbledore left the bank in a hurry. He just prayed to his ancestors that the mess he was about to walk into would be salvageable.

* * *

Harry watched as the larger predator clawed something out from under her skin around her shoulder. It was obviously muggle, but he had no idea what it did. She hissed and growled in pain and a nearby tree suffered her wrath as she hit it with her claws, splintering the wood and cutting into the trunk deeply.

The long walk they just had allowed him to familiarize himself with his new legs and posture, he just had to mind his tail for balance.

" _Itchy thing, two-legs put it in. They will probably come for it."_ The great huntress purred her pleasure at the thought.. It was the single most unsettling thing Harry had heard in a long time. " _Come we will hide and we will hunt."_

That statement made Harry's far shorter steps hesitant.

" _Why hunt humans?"_

" _Humans?"_ The Indominus tried to mimic the unfamiliar sound.

" _Two-legs."_ Harry supplied.

The large, pale muzzle that lowered itself to his level - after she stopped and turned to face him - would made any grown man wet himself.

" _Two-legs held me and my sister, Little One, in small territory with high rocks around it. They watched as she died… they denied me food until I had to feed on Little One."_ While she spoke a low, aggressive growl build up in her throat. At the same time Harry finally came to the conclusion that she was neither a simple dinosaur nor just an intelligent animal.

" _Two-legs are only good as prey."_

She leaned closer and nuzzled him, her head almost as big as his whole body.

" _But you are stronger, I will keep you safe, my hatchling and when you are as big as me, all we see will be our territory."_

Her hissy mutterings and her powerful scent somehow managed to calm him despite her words and tension he was unaware of left him. A part of him that was decidedly new reassured him that all will be well as long as she was close by. It was… nice.

What followed was an impromptu lesson in camouflaging. Harry was stunned and excited when that ability was showed to him. It allowed him to forget what she was planning for a moment.

Soon enough though a new, faint scent reached them. It was a mix well known to Harry, sweat, leather, and metal… he snorted in surprise. He was intrigued by how his mind matched the scent to what he knew but could never truly smell before his forced change.

When they finally saw the ACU squad appear by the small stream his self-appointed dinosaur caretaker had chosen as the ambush site, Harry had to fight hard not to fidget. He was torn. He could choose to remain still and silent, as she wanted, or he could try to warn the park employees and maybe scare them off.

"It can camouflage!" The scream, followed by others filled with fear and pain, let Harry know that he was too slow in making his decision. The transformed wizard cringed when he saw the screaming man being crushed under her pale, clawed foot.

He was both grateful and appalled at the men using what looked like non lethal weapons.

Of course, they just angered her more…

The following slaughter, because it couldn't be called a fight, left a deep impression on him. Truly seeing for the first time what he had the potential to turn into; it was as terrifying as it was awe inspiring. The thing that terrified him the most in all of this, though, was how the scent of freshly spilled blood made him salivate.

The young wizard was literally knocked out of his thoughts by a panicked member of the ACU squad, that had seemingly exploded out of the bushes, and ran into him. Harry was forced to take a step back, while the man fell on the ground.

For a few heartbeats both went still, staring at each other in shock. The man then began to hastily reach for and began to pull out his sidearm.

Harry's new instincts - being stimulated by what was going on around him - decided they would have none of that. Before he realized what he was doing, he pounced with a screech, pinning the man's arm that held the gun to the ground, before raking his clawed foot along it mangling it beyond any usefulness. The agonized screams were silenced when his powerful jaws closed around the man's neck with enough force to break bones.

When the sweet, coppery taste of blood hit his tongue, it was like a slap to the face. He let go immediately and desperately tried not to swallow any of the blood.

" _I can fight it."_ Harry growled, pacing and repeating the phrase to himself as the tempting taste that refused to leave forced more of his newly acquired instincts to the front. His growing hunger also added fuel to that particular fire.

He made a point of not looking at the fresh corpse.

Whatever anyone said it was him that killed Quirrel in his first year, burning the man to ash. In his second year he'd slain more than a few acromantula, who were at least sapient if not sentient, and the memory of a human. Whether that counted as 'murder' or not, he didn't know. But what he did know was that he'd also spent the last year desiring to kill the betrayer of his parents, which prompted a few secret trips to the restricted section of Hogwarts' library to gain the ability to do so. Harry was not unfamiliar with the concept of killing.

But this was far more visceral and far more personal form of killing than he was truly ready for. The young wizard was certain that he would be having nightmares of this moment for months… Years if he gave in into that primal, predatory urge to sate his hunger.

It never occurred to him to just leave the area.

" _Your first kill, well done."_ The growl was filled with pride. He turned around in time to receive another nuzzle from her, he had to try hard to ignore the blood dripping from her maw. " _Are you not hungry?"_

" _It's wrong to feed on them, when underneath my scales I'm one of them."_ His voice was strained, Harry wasn't quite certain if she would be able to understand his conflict.

She sighed? Or snorted; it was hard to tell. But the thought occurred to Harry that he needed to come up with a name other than 'big dinosaur'. She was far too… human for something as banal as that.

" _Come then, let's find prey that's not humans."_ She started to walk away downstream. Which he supposed would lead them closer towards open space, closer to the herbivores. Harry could live with that choice of a meal. Probably…

* * *

In the command center all the staff watched in horror as the carnage unfolded.

For Simon Masrani the silver lining in all of this was that Claire and Mr. Grady called in, reporting that they were able to locate her nephews and were on their way here. He glanced around.

"Everyone stay calm, we have procedures for this kind of thing. We knew it could happen." His words were calm, but he had already taken several deep, calming breaths, unconsciously repeating Claire's words. He looked at the two security guards by the entrance. "You two, bring doctor Wu here. Even if you have to threaten him to do so."

Both burly men nodded and left in a hurry. Simon needed to know what they were dealing with and he would not indulge Wu's borderline arrogant behavior any longer. He knew about the military contracts InGen and Masrani Corporation held, but he made a point of never asking too many question about some of them. Plausible deniability and all that… Here he would make an exception. Too much was at stake.

Henry made something they were not prepared for, something they all underestimated.

"Eeee... Sir I think you must see this," it was one of the technicians, Lowery.

Masrani went over to his station and watched the bespectacled man rewind the recording of one of dead ACU member's personal camera. What Lowery showed him made him feel faint, he had to grab the man's chair for support.

"Another one?" he asked quietly. The situation just became so much worse, even he knew that there was nothing more terrifying in nature than a mother defending her young. And it looked like that's what he was now dealing with.

"Looks that way, but where did it come from?" Lowery asked looking at him. And wasn't that the proverbial million dollar question.

The doors pinged and all head turned to see an unsettled Henry Wu walk in flanked by two guards; Vic Hoskins trailing behind.

"Don't talk about the young one for now." Masrani had no intention of letting the fact the I-Rex had either been pregnant or that his facilities were so compromised that an asset could be created without his knowledge get out. So, putting on a face that had crushed a hundred careers, he moved to meet his wayward scientist. Lowery, wisely, kept his mouth shut and nodded his head at the order.

"I didn't know you were on the island Vic." He said in a way of greeting. Masrani didn't particularly dislike the man, the warhawk had his uses, but the consultant was owned by more than a few of In-Gen's military contractees.

"And Henry I believe we are overdue a conversation about the Indominus Rex."

The man fidgeted and sent a subtle glance in Hoskin's direction…at least the doctor thought he was subtle. Masrani frowned, it would seem that he'd need to clean house. Still, if his chief scientist was compromised, who else was on the take?

"Gentlemen, please escort Mr. Hoskins out to cafeteria and keep him there." Masrani glared at Wu while he spoke. The man's flinch almost brought a smile, one more fit one of Grady's raptors, to his face. With a sharp "Yes sir!" the two guards were out of command center; a clearly unhappy Vic between them.

"Now Henry, you are going to tell me _exactly_ what you cooked up in that lab of yours. And if I don't like it, well…"

* * *

Claire Dearing was called many things behind her back by the Park's employees and she knew it. Strict, no nonsense, unfeeling, corporate shark was her favorite, if she was being perfectly honest. But, for the first time in her life, she was more than happy to prove them wrong. To some degree at least.

She took occasional glances in the rear mirror of the jeep at her silent nephews.

When the information came through, that two gyrospheres were still in the field when the alert was sent out, she reacted professionally. When the drivers of the spheres were identified, she left Simon to deal with the mess in command as she put her family before her work for the first time in years.

She glanced to her left, Owen Grady that had just barged in after the Indominus escape reeking of fuel was her best, and only, choice for her little rescue operation. It was the second best decision she'd made that day.

"Keep staring at me like that and I'll think you want another date." His words made her reconsider her previous thought.

Him suddenly hitting the breaks and making her almost hit her head also didn't help.

"Owen why did you…" She didn't got to finish the sentence as she looked forward. What she saw was so absurd Claire thought she really had hit her head.

* * *

When Albus Dumbledore arrived at Isla Nublar via almost silent apparition he didn't know what to expect. Jurassic World being on lockdown was certainly not it.

"What did you do Harry…" The aged wizard sighed. He was willing to bet his collection of woolen socks that his trouble magnet of a student was somehow involved in this. And Albus Wulfric Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was not a man to suffer threats to his socks lightly.

He pulled out a bright, tear shaped ruby from the pants pocket of his, cleary tailor made, dark brown suit. Albus had foregone his robes in favor of blending in…as much was as possible with his long grey hair and beard. Still, 'eccentric old man' was far more preferable than 'burn the witch'.

The gem was vibrating, it was a clear sign that he was very close and, with a muttered word, the tip pointed further inland. Dumbledore, knowing that he had magic and therefore had no need to spend hours upon hours hiking to wherever his destination may be, apparated once more.

It took him eight more jumps before he stumbled upon a carcass of a stocky dinosaur with armor plates on its back and a club for a tail. What made him certain it was dead were the two other, possibly albino, dinosaurs tearing strips of meat from the club-tailed one's underside.

The larger one, most likely an adult, noticed him first. In a most impressive display of predatory dominance it raised itself to its full height, dwarfing some of the dragon breeds that the old wizard knew off; truly a magnificent beast in his eyes. It roared aggressively before stomping around its kill.

Interestingly, the smaller one darted forward, standing between the wizard and the clearly agitated adult dinosaur. What followed was a lengthy and loud discussion, full of growls hisses and warbles. It was fascinating to watch in, Dumbledore's humble opinion, and it gave him time to formulate an educated guess as to what happened to his wayward pupil.

"Harry is that you?" His voice caused both dinosaurs to look at him, the smaller one slowly nodded its head. The headmaster sighed with relief before his sharp eyes fully took in the boy's new appearance. "I'll try to keep the question simple. Nod your head for yes, shake for no, make a circle for maybe, do you understand Harry?"

An instant, eager nod. That was good, sometimes animagi lost themselves deeply in their instincts during their first few transformations, and he suspected an animagus transformation… quite a unique one at that. Although, perhaps, Harry was a touch closer to his...primordial other half than Albus would be fully comfortable with. Hunting, killing, and eating the flesh of one's prey, raw at least, was considered to be somewhat in poor taste. Amongst both mundanes and magicals.

"Has it been more than a day since you transformed?"

A shake, some drops of blood flew into the air from his fanged maw.

"You transformed yourself without help?"

A shake. Now that got Dumbledore curious, he looked at the adult dinosaur eyeing him distrustfully. He saw a glint of frightening intelligence into those red, slitted eyes. An unpleasant memory of his former student turned enemy flashed through his mind.

"Did it help?" The aged wizard gestured to the adult. It was a wild guess but worth a shot; with magic everything was possible.

A circle. So it was a part of the mystery. Then he saw Harry trying to point something, on his muzzle… ah, blood.

"Blood magic was involved?" That made him frown. Blood magic could complicate things in the long run; it always had unexpected side effects. Well one was pretty obvious. Animagus transformations respected the age of the wizard. If this was a regular transformation, Harry should be a 'teen' version of the dinosaur he turned into, not what looked like a juvenile.

Of course, Albus knew next to nothing about this specific breed of creature. So extreme sexual dimorphism was a possibility. Even if it struck him as extraordinarily unlikely.

The unlikely trio spent a few moments in silence.

"Do you feel as if you can turn back Harry?" It was a bit much to hope for, but it was better to be disappointed and ask then not ask at all.

A shake. Dumbledore sighed.

"No matter then… You still have two months before the school year starts. I have faith you will be able to turn back long before that."

Because the were in small, shallow valley Dumbledore didn't hear the quickly approaching jeep until it was too late. He looked in the direction of the muggle vehicle and he had to fight the urge to massage the bridge of his nose. "Well that will probably complicate things…"

He watched as a muggle couple cautiously got out of the jeep and walked towards him, the man holding some kind of rifle. They stopped quite a few meters away from him and thus further from the dinosaurs.

"Hammond? The woman questioned with a shaky voice.

"Albus Dumbledore actually." He answered, positioning himself in a way that would be polite to the couple, but allow him to keep the dinosaurs in sight. He knew the adult wanted little more than to snap him up and, as much as it pained him to do so, he had to also be wary of Harry. If nothing else, the boy was, admirably, dedicated to his friends. No matter how odd the situation that brought them together may be. Besides, as Hagrid would say, it's unhealthy to not respect sharp teeth.

"I don't know who you are, how you got here, or how you are still alive old man and how you're keeping them from maiming you… us, but I would advise to slowly back away from them so that we can all leave in one piece." Owen's voice was calm, but his whole body was tensed and ready to move.

"Oh. I'm quite confident in saying that young Harry would not allow it I believe, so long as we behave reasonably and don't anger his… foster mother?" He glanced at the smaller dinosaur expecting an answer.

What he got was far better. A short exchange later between the two dinosaurs, the adult moved to stand over Harry's form protectively while glaring at the humans and daring them to make a mistake.

"How did you…what the fuck?!" The man's gobsmacked expression was priceless. Indeed, Albus fully intended to save that particular memory.

"Who are you, really?" The redhead asked, staring and not believing what she was seeing.

"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at your service." The old wizard decided to tell the truth only after a brief Legilimency scan of both Claire and Owen, seeing as they were in the perfect positions to help contain this unexpected mess. To add some validity to his words he conjured a comfortable arm chair to sit in. His little trick somewhat startled the adult dinosaur, but seeing no threat, and after a warble from Harry, she stopped considering him as a snack.

"Sparkly bullshit is real?" Owen asked, still with even more disbelief in his voice.

"Excuse me?" Dumbledore felt offended.

"I think I need a drink…" Claire muttered.

"You and me both."

"Wicked…" Gray's voice spoke up from behind Claire, making her jump, provoking a warning roar from the Indominus.

"Hey now, easy girl!" Owen said while aiming his rifle, at the same time as Dumbledore raised his wand. The Indominus looked at the puny humans with their strange weapons and scoffed at them.

"Idiot!" Zach cuffed him in the back of the head hard enough to make Gray yelp.

"Boys, back into the jeep now! We will talk later." Claire was both frightened and furious as she dragged the two protesting boys back to the car.

When she returned, the air was still rather tense. Of course, Albus was chatting with the smaller I-Rex. The fact it was answering with head shakes stopped her flat. After a short while, the old man finished his conversation and turned back to the two of them.

"Now then, let's discuss how you can help Harry and I. And how, perhaps, I can help you." Dumbledore said sitting in his conjured arm chair.

"I know Harry is supposedly the missing kid, if we're talking about the same person even, and you keep mentioning him, why?" Claire took the initiative of speaking for their group. Owen was too busy watching the Indominus for signs of so much as spitting in their direction. She seemingly took his glaring as a challenge and stared just as hard.

What followed was a brief overview of animagi, that at some point made Owen look at Albus with thinly veiled interest, and how it tied to their current conundrum.

"So let me get this straight. Harry comes here on vacation, gets attacked by Indominus Rex here, turns into one in an attempt to survive, and now she treats him like her own offspring? And the kid is stuck as a dinosaur until he figures the way to turn back on his own?"

It took a better part of an hour to get one wizard and two muggles up to speed on their parts of the story; by that time the adult Indominus had lain down, bored. Harry, on the other hand, was still avidly following the conversation.

Owen didn't know if he felt more insulted or relieved that the Indominus began ignoring them by that point. In the end, he decided to settle on relieved. Afterall, he had a shotgun. And not a particularly big one.

"You know all of this has a snowball's chance in hell of ending well for everyone involved, right?" Owen pointed out.

"In-Gen and Masrani will be all over this. They will force the Indominus back into her enclosure and him with her. And that's the best case scenario." Claire stated, feeling no need to elaborate on the worst case scenario

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you run the park partly by attracting sponsors for the dinosaurs?" Dumbledore asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

"That is true, but why do you ask?"

"What if told you, Claire, that I can offer around twenty four millions pounds sterling for the sponsorship of those two, right this instant?" It was the majority of his family fortune but he was old and so was his brother. They had no children or family left and at least all that gold would be used for something meaningful.

"Ooh, that might work I'll admit it." Owen was impressed.

"I would have to contact Simon, but I think it's a workable idea. Verizon won't be happy to be outbid, but that's life." Claire had her corporate smile on.

"Well then, if that settled I thinks it's time we all went our separate ways." Dumbledore changed his suit back to robes and vanished the armchair. "I will go with you to meet this Mr. Simon."

"What about the Rexs? We can't just let them loose." Owen pointed out.

"Harry, can you try and explain to her that you should avoid humans for now?" Albus said and seeing Harry nod, clasped his hands behind him. "Excellent! I'll come looking for you when all is settled on the Park side of things and we've discussed our options. Off you go."

Snorting with clear amusement Harry turned to the adult Indominus still trying to process the bizarre conversation he was just a part of.

The older pale dinosaur, seeing her hatchling finally losing interest, stood up and called for him. They spent enough time exposed on the plains.

With one last glance behind him Harry looked at Professor Dumbledore walking with Claire and Owen towards the jeep.

" _Humans are odd."_ she snorted when her Green-Eyes caught up. It was her first positive interaction with them and she was slightly confused by it.

" _You have no idea."_ Harry agreed, pondering two things. One, how to persuade her to avoid contact with humans and two… how agreable that herbivore had been with his new tastes. Helping to take it down was also strangely satisfying and almost...therapeutic. " _I can do this…"_ He muttered and smirked, which was absolutely terrifying with his rows of sharp teeth.

He had been doubtful if he could adjust to being the predator, if he could control it, right after he killed that armed man. Harry had _never_ in his life found himself in the dominant, alpha predator position… so to speak. And he realized now that at some level it frightened him.

But now… Now that he had a proper taste, he was never letting that feeling go. Seeing how Dumbledore reacted to them, to him, also helped tremendously bolster his self confidence. He would control this, there was no place for doubt.

She observed her hatchling as they once more walked into the jungle. Right after he killed the human in self defense, he was depressed. But his mood improved throughout the day, his gait became more fluid, he became more aware of his surroundings. It was odd, seeing him grow into his body…

She growled happily seeing him move like a proper predator now, inexperienced yes, but eager!

In the distance, a jeep was speeding towards Jurassic World's command center. It's passengers pondering what this day's events meant for their futures. All of them coming to similar conclusion that, in the end, a _lot_ of people were in for a rude wake-up call.


	3. Chapter 3: Changes

**A/N:** Goddammit I can't stop... Also, if anyone is wondering, I do read the reviews but I don't answer the questions in A/N as I personally don't like long A/N. If you feel the need for a discussion about the story or have questions you want answered I may consider looking into making a forum here on FF for the story. Let me know in the reviews.

 **Edited:** 10/10/2018

* * *

Harry, limping slightly, followed his… adoptive mother? It was a bizarre thought. Though, perhaps, not one he was entirely opposed to. That Dumbledore mentioned it seemed a bit presumptive, though.

Still… He simply couldn't be entirely comfortable with it, considering he'd known her for less than a day. The fact she was another species also had to be considered. However, considering his current predicament, and McGonagall was going to _love_ hearing about this, maybe it'd be best to simply… go with the flow. So to speak.

The sun has set not long ago and both of them had walked a considerable distance. They were deep in the jungle on the slope of one of the mountains. Inactive volcanoes, if Harry remembered that tour guide correctly. And wasn't that a lifetime ago? If he'd been physically capable of it, Harry was sure a wry grin would have graced his face.

He took in all of the sensations he experienced during their walk, the smells, the sights and the sounds of the jungle; all the while trying to move silently as possible. A personal challenge, which he managed with moderate success.

It gave him time to realize that what he thought were just skewed colours, were in fact far more. Somehow he was able to see body heat and it took him hours to figure out what shades meant what. It was somewhat difficult to pick up on during the day, simply because he still could see in color; but after sunset, when his surroundings began to darken it became more obvious. The light, and gentle, diffused warmth of day, having mostly dissipated.

The transformed wizard also had an opportunity to learn more about her.

She enjoyed killing for sport, as he saw her rip into a pair of stegosaurus on their way here. He of course helped, it was too tempting. It also served as a valuable lesson in fighting; the pair of herbivores had a juvenile with them that wasn't all that much bigger than he was. She had encouraged him to kill it by himself; something he accomplished with little trouble, if only due to the creatures panic.

Of course, their victory was hardly flawless. They were both sporting a scattering of wounds, courtesy of the spike tailed dinosaurs. She, more than him. But the adrenaline rush was worth the few new scars on his thighs and muzzle. They were already starting to itch.

" _This is a good spot for resting."_ Her voice was as quiet as such a creature could be. While he was tempted to ask why, a question she'd have been happy to answer, Harry decided to take a look around first. Observation, even if she hadn't used that particular word, had been a key part of what she'd taught Harry today.

In the end it was a patch of dirt, nestled in the roots of an old tree with low bushes growing in spots around it. The small space they were in was largely free of most other forms of undergrowth as well. What's more, it was large enough for the both of them to easily settle into.

" _We will mark this territory as our own, but don't stray to far."_

After a year of Care of Magical Creatures Harry knew exactly what she meant and, if he was still human, Harry was certain he'd reassemble a tomato right now. He muttered out an answer and went the opposite direction from her, it was embarrassing enough to his human sensibilities as it was.

After his latest, mortifyingly embarrassing, activity was completed, he returned to the Dirt Patch still awfully self conscious. The only saving grace in the whole of the situation, was that it was night and he could repeat to himself that no one would see anything.

For a while he was alone, lying in the still semi-warm dirt, fallen leaves and other plant detritus. He was grateful for that as it gave him time to calm down.

" _Out of all things, I'm missing indoor plumbing the most right now. Who would have thought that?",_ he muttered aloud with his snout buried in the fallen leaves.

Soon he heard the low, booming sound of her footsteps. Without a word she settled down laying on her stomach, nudging him this way and that, until he was right up against the inner side of her stomach.

With a look he confirmed that she was indeed kind of spooning him, her larger body almost completely wrapped around him. However the closeness and her body's warmth were allowing him to relax, as he felt sleep creeping up on him.

The last thing he saw before falling asleep was a large, red, slitted eye watching him closely.

* * *

Simon Masrani's gaze wandered amongst his little cabal. The three others, fiddling a bit nervously, stood behind him. He'd claimed Claire's seat, he _was_ the boss and while he normally eschewed pissing contests he had no idea who was loyal to him and who wasn't. So the slight psychological edge that came from placing himself in the dominant, and having the others stand in front of Claire's desk.

Still gathering his thoughts, he observed the woman in question. Normally, his operations manager, IE the one who handled the actual micromanaging of his theme park cum extinct animal preserve, was immaculate. Instead, she stood there in her dirtied white dress and, _mindbogglingly_ still in heels.

Owen Grady, the resident velociraptor wrangler, was his usual self. that man had served more than a few tours it was hardly strange he looked… comfortable at parade rest.

His final, and the oldest, guest, however, seemed far more calm than he really should be. Albus Dumbledore, allegedly a wizard, was twinkling his bloody eyes at him.

Masrani snorted. He was an absurdly wealthy man who'd made some savvy investments. He was the oddball here.

'Somehow.'

"All right, all of you, sit down. Claire, you still have last years Christmas bonus?"

He strangled a chuckle at seeing her, at least, wince in relief. If nothing else, Masrani was going to order her to get a pair of boots.

"Yes sir. It's in the cabinet above the mini fridge."

Moving with the ease of long practice, Masrani had four glasses, two cubes of ice, made from _only_ the purest spring water, each and three moderately impressed guests in front of him within half a minute.

"Would you believe me if I said I was a bartender for six years?"

Grady, gesturing to ask if he could pick up his glass, to which Masrani nodded his assent, spoke up.

"Without doubt, sir. Your skill impresses me most deeply."

Another snort. "I sign your paycheck, Grady. Thank you, though."

With that, the other two took their drinks.

"Now, Mr. Dumbledore-"

"Headmaster, if you don't mind."

He nodded his acquiescence. "Headmaster. As it stand, I'm not going to question you on your, alleged, magic. I saw you turn a pair of shoes into a pair of rabbits. However, there is still the issue of you being on my island. And why I should trust you with what I'm about to show my two… employees? If a suicidal dedication to the preservation of human life doesn't automatically promote them to upper management."

Albus bent his head. Quirking his lip he gave a nod, silently ending an internal argument.

"I shall, just this once, do something I haven't done in nearly ninety years, Mr. Masrani. I shall be blunt."

Seeing that all three of his mundane compatriots were listening, he continued.

"Mr. Potter, your second, younger I-Rex is my student. I am his guardian. And I have a personal, vested interest in his well being. I've also established a verbal agreement with Ms. Claire to sponsor Mr. Potter, in his new body, along with his foster mother for a sum of some twenty four million pounds. I'm also willing to not exercise my _considerable_ discretionary power, political and otherwise, to see a boy whose continuous stream of bad luck I see as a personal failing back home. Irregardless of what need be done."

Masrani nodded, Claire shuffled, Owen glared slightly.

Albus just let his eyes twinkle again. The CEO was clearly a man used to dealing with power, if perhaps not used to wielding it himself. He knew what Albus was implying. The young lady, though. She was used to being out of the limelight. And the idea of being cutthroat anywhere but the board room was anathema to her. Of course, the young man, obviously a former soldier, Albus knew the look, didn't appreciate her being threatened.

His thoughts were, as they always were, somehow… sparkly. 'Young love. How wonderful.'

A moment later, Masrani spoke up.

"Before we continue, you'll want to see this, then. All the cards on the table."

The aged headmaster quirked an eyebrow at the tone. It was one he had heard far too often to be comfortable with it being even somewhat related to Harry.

* * *

All of them were nursing a third glass of eighteen year old whiskey, Claire's Christmas present having been quite needed. Their discussion had carried on late into the night. The footage of the Indominus Rex attacks, both of them, had left a melancholy air over the group.

The footage had aged the bearded man before their eyes. Masrani could understand that somewhat; if he had a thirteen year old kid going around ripping other people's throats out he too would be devastated. Although the full mechanics of the involved magic - and that was something he was still struggling to grasp - what the man called animagi, had him reeling.

It was a good thing that only employee's of the company had died today, for a given worth of good, as it may be. If it had been otherwise, both of the dinosaurs would have to be marked for termination no matter how much the wizard pleaded and threatened. Even now he still felt that was the safest option, even considering the earlier, if implied, threats…

What Henry Wu made should not be living, the threat was too great.

But, _maybe_ with magic in play, it could be containable. It was still a risky bet no matter how he looked at it.

"I think we spent enough time in here as it is, are we in agreement Headmaster?" Simon finished his whiskey, the slight burn helping him concentrate on the here and now.

"I do believe we are. If you would be kind enough to prepare the contract, I'll prepare things on my side. There will be no legal leverage, magical or mundane, that can be used to cancel our deal." Albus spoke gravely. In the end, the money hadn't been enough. He'd had to, personally, swear to help contain the Indominus Rex. And such a thing was skirting the Statue of Secrecy at best.

Now, though… Now he had to contact a certain dragon handler and his cursebreaker of a brother, to try and convince them to change employers. Luckily that shouldn't be too difficult. Of course, the boys were useful in more ways than one. Bill had dealt with muggle agencies at his dig sites, Charlie having helped to negotiate for the dragon preserve he worked at. As it stood, their eyes would be useful in helping establish himself, properly, at least, in the muggle legal system.

"I need a week, at the longest, for that. The money transfer can be arranged much faster."

"Well seeing as we are all done here..." Claire began with a small smile. "Maybe we should retire for today? I can organize a room in one of the hotels for you, Headmaster."

She and Simon had their own suites at the resort and Owen had his… detached property. Let it not be said that Claire Dearing wasn't capable of finding something amenable to say about the man who'd help save her nephews.

"A delightful idea, I would be in your debt." If he was being honest Albus felt too tired and mentally drained to try and apparate. He could spare a day to rest.

With Claire escorting Dumbledore out of the office, that left the two other men thinking.

"Even with the help he promised it will be risky." Owen finally broke the silence.

"I realize that, but I feel we have no choice. We are responsible for her and you, yourself saw that she can be… reasoned with. At this point, we, _I_ , have created, potentially, the first non human fully sentient being the normal world has ever seen. And then she was locked in a cage, starved, tortured, and then went on a rampage. If I'm covering my ass, legally and politically, that's all on me. If I'm being honest, I want to feed Wu to his pet monster." Masrani stood up and looked out the glass wall that was behind the desk, overlooking the resort. "And that's before you include that kid, Harry Potter, in this whole cluster."

"I'm still against having them introduced to my girls, just so you know." The moment it became known that Indominus Rex was part raptor the idea was brought into their discussion. Owen was against it on the grounds that his Alpha status, which was disputable at best, probably wouldn't survive such a meeting and years of his work would go to waste.

"But wasn't it you who said that the Indominus needs an established social group to learn from? That it needs contact with others?"

"She has the kid now." Grady, half guiltily, pointed out.

"An inexperienced, bullied, starved for affection teenager driven by unfamiliar instincts who will also learn from her. It;ll be a feedback loop. One that none of us want to see the end of, I think." Masrani spoke with quiet anger, mostly for what happened to the kid.

He'd wanted to know exactly who Harry was, what to expect when he was interacted with. The whole of the group had felt a mixture of sympathy, righteous indignation, and, in Masrani's case, guilt related to and on the behalf of the teenager. It was safe to say that all three of the muggles had lowered their estimation of the venerable wizard they'd been speaking to.

"Their backgrounds do sound disturbingly similar, don't they?" Owen asked before knocking back his glass and emptying what was left in it.

Simon said reaching for the almost empty bottle and pouring himself another half a shot, before offering what was left it to Owen, who gladly refilled his own glass.

If he was honest with himself, Owen could hardly blame Claire for what transpired today. But if she showed even an inkling of interest in the dinosaurs health and comfort, outside of what was needed to make money, it probably would've been enough to stop the day's events from even happening.

"Grady, I'm promoting you. I want you to have a more active role in the Park's operations. You and Claire work well together, from what I've seen and heard."

It was a good thing Owen hadn't had the time to drink, he would have choked on the liquid amber.

"No thank you, sir… you're not sticking me in some office somewhere." The raptor wrangler firmly, but politely, made his refusal clear while putting his hand forward in the 'stop' gesture he used with his girls.

"Leave that to Claire, she's damn near a machine with how she cuts through it. And, besides, I think the last time you actually filed a progress report was six months ago." Masrani raised an eyebrow. Grady smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "The kid, and if that goes well, the Indominus meeting your raptors is still on the table, by the way."

Owen cursed silently and finished his glass of whiskey. If Simon wanted to, he could always force the issue. But he was giving him time to prepare for the inevitable, at least that's how it sounded to Owen.

"I do believe that's your ride Owen." The CEO gestured outside to a jeep that just stopped by the command center, he could just see a dark skinned man that was driving getting out of the car.

"Right then, time to go." Owen sat his glass on the desk and began to leave.

"I'll be expecting you here tomorrow, Mr. Grady." Simon's last words made Owen groan as he closed the doors to the office behind him.

Downstairs, Barry was leaning against his jeep, slightly worried. The day was anything but normal and not half an hour ago he got a call from Owen to pick him up from Command. That was the first positive thing to happen in the last few hours.

He finally saw his friend walking out of the bunker style building.

"Owen, what's going on? Are we evacuating or not, they told us to be on standby." Barry asked as they shook heads and he wrinkled his nose, Owen reeked of gasoline and alcohol.

"I'll tell you later what I can, but we're staying and the Park will reopen in a few weeks. The guests will be shipped off the island at Masrani Corp expense and are gonna be given a load of other free crap I didn't care about enough to listen to." Owen went on as both climbed back into the car. "I'm feeling way too sober to be dealing with this shit…"

"Right mess. But that's how it always is, yeah?" Barry commented as he started the engine, though relief could be plainly heard in his voice.

"You have no idea…" The cool night air hitting him in the face sobered him a bit. He took hold of the safety cage with his right hand as Barry took a sharp right turn. "We'll have to intensify our training with the girls Barry."

"If you say so, but I don't know... how do you want to do that?"

"Probably by doing something stupidly dangerous." Owen answered, realizing he would have to make a leap of faith to cement his position as the alpha of his pack. Before Masrani dumped the Indominus into his lap. Trust in a pack, after all, went both ways.

"Great." Barry grunted out, having an idea about what the crazy ex-navy man wanted to do. It was, after all, only today that Owen showed it could be done. "If you get killed, can I keep your bike?"

"Sure. Whatever." At the moment, Grady didn't care. He simply closed his eyes. The rest of the ride was spent in silence, with both men deep in their thoughts.

* * *

The first thing Claire Dearing did she'd gotten back to her apartment was to throw her favorite white dress and heels into the trash bin. Immediately after, she took a long, hot shower. The events of the day would have unseen ramifications. She wasn't certain she was ready for any of them.

Her whole world view was thrown out the window, courtesy of Albus Dumbledore and Henry Wu.

For as long as she was the operations manager of the Park, for her the assets mood and health was important in the same way as knowing that all the parts in her expensive car worked fine and were maintained. Her concern for the creatures was practical, not emotional.

Today, the fact that the dinosaurs had feelings was drilled into her head quite forcefully. Oh, she doubted many could compare to the scientific horror that Wu created, and by extension a boy turned by magic into that same species… But to deal with those two, she would have to change her approach to all of the assets, lest she fall into a trap created by her own ignorance.

"And I'm procrastinating." She owed Karen a call. That was the one talk she was not looking forward too.

Claire picked up her phone and sat on her bed, wrapped in fluffy towels. With a sigh she punched in her sister's number and waited, this would be a long night.

* * *

For Albus Dumbledore the five days following his unexpected trip to Isla Nublar went by in a flash.

"I've lived for over a hundred years, and now I'm suddenly short on time." He even complained to Bill Weasley when he went to talk with the young man. Who would have thought that he'd miss the blatant greed and corruption of the ministry? At least then you could just throw gold at a problem and it'd disappear. The muggles, however, seemed to _insist_ on paperwork, no matter how wealthy or politically important you were.

In the end it was all worth it. The two Weasley men agreed to join his little foray. With that said, he was short a family fortune and his father was undoubtedly rolling in his grave. Thankfully, everything had gone through and he was established as the CEO of a small, family run wildlife preservation fund.

With that said, Albus still felt his lips twitch when he remembered the goblin's muttered invectives. Just like everyone else, they had their moments of arrogance. Assuming that he didn't speak gobbledygook, and was not therefore privy to their 'discussions' was one.

The break out of Indominus Rex still made world wide news, with the Park being closed down for repairs and "tightening of security". Even without lawsuits there was nothing else to be done. Admittedly, the number of deaths was a surprisingly well kept secret.

So when Albus once again landed on the Island, transported via portkey, with Bill and Charlie Weasley he had a smile on his wrinkled face.

"Welcome to Jurassic World boys." Dumbledore saw them taking in the sights, with their duffel bags dropped on the ground behind them.

"I'll take this over Egypt any day!" Bill quipped as he pulled out some kind of muggle communication device from his pocket. It still baffled the old wizard how the young man managed to make it work around high concentrations of magic. When he showed it to him, Albus had been thoroughly impressed. No wonder Gringotts entered a bidding war over the boy's employment and it was a Merlin Blessed thing the Weasleys had always strongly supported him.

"So when do we get to see the beasties?" Charlie asked, still looking around.

"Well according to the message I got from one Claire Dearing, someone will pick us up in a few minutes; we're kind of early." Bill pocketed his precious baby. Considering he'd lost four devices before he managed to inscribe the necessary runes, two more went up in smoke before he had achieved a stable, working rune matrix and that the one he currently had was the seventh, he _really_ wanted to make sure it lasted. Those things weren't cheap.

"Well then, I'll check up on Harry. We'll meet up with later in the lobby of my previous hote.," Albus said pulling out a familiar ruby from his khaki colored safari getup. When the old wizard apparated away, the Weasley brothers looked at each other.

"So, we wait for the muggles I guess…" Bill said, while Charlie shrugged. What exactly happened to Potter was still a mystery to them. When they asked, their old Headmaster only twinkled his eyes at them more. For some reason, the old man had managed to bring to mind the twins. Obviously, they were now expecting the worst for the Statue of Secrecy.

In the meantime Dumbledore, after some jumping around, arrived in the area Harry should've been in. The problem was when he looked around the jungle he found himself in, he saw only vegetation. Slowly he drew his wand and held it loosely by his side, narrowing his eyes as he stared in the direction the ruby pointed in as it vibrated so fast it began emitting a low, keening sound.

First came the low growl, and then what looked like a part of the undergrowth moved, before the camouflaging pattern faded to pale skin. The Avada Kedavra green eyes that stared at him, only intensified by his transformed student's tense posture, made Dumbledore smile widely. The old wizard was equally amused and wary.

"It's refreshing to be treated as a legitimate threat by someone other than Severus and dear Filius, Harry." He was lauded for decades as the greatest wizard alive for a reason. Most thought he was senile, never mind that he managed three of the highest positions of power in the magical world. "I see you're adapting admirably."

A slow cautious nod.

"I would ask what prompted this reaction, but I think that question will have to wait until you can speak again." Albus made some mental measurements and noted a few freshly healed wounds that would probably scar if not treated. "And you've grown a few inches."

Animagi were such a fascinating bunch, Albus wasn't one due to irrational fear that his form would be a goat. During their childhood his brother had, in the space of six months, somehow given him a complex. He was relatively sure it had to do with the prank spells that had left him bleating for most of that time.

Thankfully, he'd retained his old research notes. He'd even studied some of the more obscure tomes on the subject the past days. While it was like a vain hope, he'd thought he might get a clue that would help him fully understand what happened with Harry. Unfortunately, while it was interesting, meaningful information on the process itself was sparse.

"Did you try to change back?"

A slow nod.

"I see it didn't work. Well then, I came about some knowledge that may help." Dumbledore began as he glanced around quickly, trying not to be too obvious. It was possible that the adult Indominus was close by, hidden as Harry had been. "It would seem that Blood Magic based animagi weren't that uncommon at one point. The belief about warriors gaining strength through consumption of a part of their killed enemy came from somewhere, after all. I believe that this means, that when you change, contrary to traditional animagi, you can't try and separate yourself from your animal form. In other words there will always be some physical and mental carry over."

While warily observing the old wizard as he spoke, Harry mulled over his words. Four days in the jungle worked wonders on his understanding of what his flesh had become. Ripping into multi ton dinosaurs did the same for his self confidence. He thought he was ready... Probably. What Dumbledore said would explain why, when he tried just yesterday to turn back into a human, he instantly had to stop as he felt pinpricks of pain all over his body.

It was also curious to the young wizard how his instincts immediately, upon the Headmaster's arrival, classified Dumbledore as not-worth-it-prey. Harry realized it was the body language. No one should be so nonchalant in the middle of the jungle, the quick look around he saw Dumbledore perform when he showed up and later on again during their conversation, the loose-but-firm hold he had on his wand confirmed he was no fool. So that only left extreme confidence in his own skill and power. A dangerous piece of prey indeed… a silent, warning hiss escaped him accidentally.

However, a part of him still wanted to test himself against the old wizard. The human part snorted and promptly reined in that particular death wish. Oh, he knew the headmaster wouldn't kill him. But he'd probably feel like he'd rather the old man had.

"I'll get going now, but will probably return in a day or two, at the latest, with my two guests, Bill and Charlie Weasley. You heard about them from Ron...?"

Harry tilted his head. He hadn't really thought about Ron and Hermione in the past few days, had he? In his defense, he had other things on his head. Mostly survival. And, you know, the whole 'turned into a dinosaur' thing.

He nodded his head seeing that Dumbledore was waiting for an answer.

"Good, good. See you later then my boy," With those words the old wizard apparated away.

" _Is the strange man gone?"_ The adult Indominus growled as she dropped her camouflaged, moving from a position situated in the old man's blind spot. Her hatchling was teaching her so many new words and meanings. Although she wished she could understand the sounds that humans made. That would make dealing with them so much easier. One way or another.

" _He apparated away, Pale-Mother."_ Harry finally decided on a name for her, which caused her no small amount of delight. The amount of nuzzling he received after that made her feelings clear enough. That name also appeased his human desire to actually call her something other than 'she' or 'her', but kept things from becoming too awkward.

" _Come. It's time to hunt."_ she said turning towards the direction of their usual hunting grounds.

Harry eagerly followed her. Explanations could wait.

* * *

It was almost evening before the three wizards were comfortably unpacked in the hotel. Still, they left their room and were waiting outside the front door of the hotel for their transport. They could have apparated where needed, but it could come off as rude. Soon enough, while talking about some muggle curiosities they discovered in their rooms, they saw two cars closing in.

When the jeeps stopped before them, Owen waved them in from the first one.

"Jump in, we'll show you my girls. They're...as close as we're gonna get, behaviorally, to the one you will be dealing with." His opinion of the two redheads, dressed similarly to him, rose a notch when he saw them settle in without any awkwardness, with just brief greetings. Albus cautioned them that wizards didn't really mix well with non-wizards, but those two seemed comfortable in their current surroundings.

"I see you're quite... roughed up, Mr. Grady. Has something happened?"

The older wizard's question made him wince. He had an impressive collections of scrapes and bruises, most of them hidden under his clothes. He also had two small stitches… not to mention sore muscles.

"You could say that." Owen decided to not comment further as he focused on driving. The last five days were hell on earth for him, and he did it to himself with a smile.

In the jeep behind him, driven by Barry, Claire and Simon were having a similar discussion.

"He didn't… That's why he shows up half dead in the office after his morning rounds?" Claire stared at Barry with shock.

"And it worked?" Simon added in, he was impressed. Whether by Owen's stupidity or sheer determination, he had yet to decide.

"It's a work in progress, good thing that when you kicked out Hoskins' team out they left behind those nice lightweight, kevlar reinforced guards and vests. We've gone through three sets already." Berry said taking a look into the rear mirror to see Masrani's expression. "But they don't allow anyone else in, and it's obvious that without Blue he would end up a chew toy, that girl is something else."

That much sounded true to Simon, he had, after all, played catch up and watched Mr. Grady's video logs over the past few days.

Claire was too stunned to say anything further; she would need time to formulate a nice rant about taking risks. Because as infuriating as Owen was sometimes, she was growing fond of him… She was even thinking of giving him another chance.

After that their conversation turned towards the engineering work needed for the Indominus paddock. Mostly it was being enlarged and had, had almost all cameras removed alongside a bevy of small adjustments being made. Nothing that went on inside would be recorded, as per Dumbledore's wishes. And in the end it was decided that it would not be opened to the public.

Thankfully, their discussions were, mostly, wrapped up by the time they reached the raptor pen.


	4. Chapter 4: Perspectives

**A/N:** Took some time, but I had to decide on the nature of some interactions. Still not beta'ed. I do hope you'll enjoy this chapter!

 **Edited** 10/10/2018

* * *

Carefully, he was still getting used to being a multi ton carnivore, he placed his clawed foot on the ground. A light drizzle was falling, so while he didn't have to worry about his scent too much, it also meant less secure footing. Another limiting factor was his camouflage; he couldn't change it fluidly enough if he moved too quickly.

And the prey he was stalking with Pale-Mother was skittish. Harry could not remember the actual name of the herbivores with the curved, tube like crests, a herd of which they had stumbled upon three days ago. After their first attack in the then predominant tactic of theirs, meaning charge in and hope for the best, the survivors had become far more cautious.

Harry had to blink away some of the rain water as he focused on his task. He was the distraction, he would get the prey moving in the direction they wanted. They employed this tactic once before, on a smaller mixed herd by the most used watering hole. It worked very well, with them sustaining far fewer scrapes and wounds than usual. Additionally, it had felt… natural to work together like that.

The undergrowth thinned out a body length before him, so he had to stop. Peering out of the brush, Harry saw that the herd was grazing in the grass patch, every member of the group looking up from time to time to observe the tree line.

In the week he spent living in the body of a carnivore, he had learned to quickly judge the condition of his would be prey. Harry spotted two potential kills. They were moving slightly slower and were looking up less frequently. Tiredness or old age. One also had a small limp in its left leg.

Deciding he had given Pale-Mother enough time, Harry tensed his muscles and charged out of hiding. Splitting the air with as loud of a roar as he could muster.

The herbivores panicked and began running, but not exactly in the right direction. Knowing he needed to stop them before they got going, he moved more to the left, before roaring again and snapping his jaws at the limping one. His teeth came so close he could practically taste his approaching meal. Then, to his right, one of the herbivores slipped and fell down with a loud, terrified bellow.

It was an opportunity, one he _would not_ miss. Digging the claws of his feet deep into the ground, he made a sharp turn and pounced. He latched on with his foreclaws and went for the kill, clamping down on the neck with his jaws.

Up ahead he heard a deeper, more powerful roar and a brief agonized bellow as Pale-Mother snatched up her kill.

When his prey stopped moving, he let go and raised his bloodied muzzle to give a triumphant roar, before he began tearing into his kill. The adrenaline rush subsided long before he ate his fill, but the satisfaction and pride remained.

The young wizard-turned-dinosaur gazed at the gruesome mess that was the herbivores carcass. He was certain most humans would find the sight repulsive, he had become used to it… When that was dinner every night, the gore quickly became less intimidating.

Maybe he would try turning back into human today? He had a feeling he was so very close and Dumbledore's advice could very well be what he was missing.

" _You have improved my hatchling."_ Pale-Mother purred out as she nuzzled him. Harry responded in kind, knowing it caused her no small amount of happiness.

" _I want to try changing into human again."_ Harry spoke after a moment. It was something of a growing sore spot for her, but he was adamant about it. And her happiness vanished with a low disapproving warble.

" _I can not understand. Why do you want to be human again?"_

Harry sighed, which came out as a snort. If it weren't for the fact he had Sirius, Ron, and Hermione in his life and even Hagrid, he would be tempted to stay the way he was now. It was the simplicity that was so very tempting, however…

" _There are things I would like to do, that I have to do, and that I can't in this body."_ She watched him and he didn't flinch from her disapproving stare.

" _Let's get back to the nest then, it will be safer there."_ Harry breathed out in relief and fell in step behind her. There had been a single instance in past couple of days when she had needed to 'reprimand him' for talking back and generally being difficult. It ended in a typical show of dominance - at least he thought so - with her pinning him down and grazing his neck with her sharp teeth; reminding him who was the stronger predator and thus who had authority. He grumbled that whole day at the unfairness of it and she seemed deeply amused by that, but he was not fooled. She would do what she needed to do, if she thought she needed to force an issue.

* * *

About the same time that Harry's hunt took place, the two jeeps finally stopped by the raptor enclosure. The five guests got out and gathered around Owen. This _was_ his show, after all. Barry, in the meantime, disappeared inside an unassuming shack.

"Right then, important thing to remember. What I say goes here. I'm trying pretty damn hard to strengthen my Alpha status with the girls so I can't tolerate any insubordination where they can see it." He had to stop as Barry returned and started handing him arm and shin guards. The black pieces of gear had some scratches in them, kevlar mesh sticking out in places.

"You know, hearing about it and seeing you doing this are two different things." Clair spoke, to the confusion of the three wizards.

"Don't worry, so far nothing turned lethal." Owen said as he put on the high collared vest and secured it tightly with Barry's help. Although he was quite certain Echo was giving him the stink eye for punching her nose once, even if she'd deserved that one. He made a habit of trying to never lose sight of her after that.

"You're going inside the enclosure?" It was Charlie that asked the question. After eyeing the structure and the gate layout he was certain that whatever those raptors were, they should not be taken lightly.

"Yep, and you're going with Barry on the walkways." The ex-navy man quipped as he began moving towards the gates.

"Just… be careful." Claire followed Barry, clearly not happy with the plan.

"Lately that word doesn't exist in his dictionary, Ms. Dearing." The dark skinned man chuckled while leading the group up.

By the time they were assembled on the steel walkway, Owen was ready to open the inner gate.

"Where are they?" Bill asked looking into the enclosure and seeing nothing.

"Oh they're there, waiting for Owen. They've played 'ambush' with him since he first entered willingly." Barry leaned casually on the railing, trying to spot the girls in the bushes. "He thinks Blue is testing him."

Owen entered slowly, cautiously. His knees bent and body ready to move, his hand-to-hand drill sergeant would be proud. If he learned one thing during the past few days it was that his girls played rough. And he knew what to expect upon entering.

Echo exploded from his right, when he started to look to his left when he thought he saw one of his girls.

"Not this shit again…" Owen murmured turning and moving at his most troublesome girl. He went low and barged into her side with his shoulder, he could feel her teeth grazing the back of his vest and her foreclaws giving him a few new scratches on his right arm… he was gonna feel that tomorrow.

The sudden redirection in momentum was enough to make the raptor stumble and with a rough, full body push he made her fall. Scratch his earlier thought, he was feeling the impact right now as his shoulder throbbed in pain.

Echo screamed in denial as she got up, ready to pounce until Blue ran out of the bushes with a warning bark. Delta and Charlie followed at a more sedate pace.

"Echo, listen and behave!" Owen was direct and forceful in his tone, but not angry, per se. It was during his third excursion into the pen, that he discovered that tag teaming Echo was the way to go with her. Firm and in control from him… dinosaur, he supposed, from Blue.

Echo's head swiveled from him to Blue, as she barked and whined, spreading and flexing her claws.

" _Don't help him sister!"_

" _He is not Hunter like us! No claws and teeth! He would die easily. "_

" _Then he should not be Alpha!"_ Echo barked aggressively, hissing in their caretaker's direction. While she held some respect for him, she didn't understand her sisters' obsession with him.

With a growl, Blue pounced on Echo.

"Hey, hey! Stop it right now!" As a general rule, Owen believed that stepping between fighting women was a bad idea. If they had sharp claws and teeth it was borderline suicide... So he naturally waited for the right moment and jumped in, catching Echo in a headlock.

"Damn you're strong…" He huffed as the raptor strained against his hold. He felt claws raking across his vest. A hit from a tail caught his thigh. Still he held on. At least until a particularly strong buck from Echo let her get just enough room headbutt him. The blow threw him off her making, sending him through the air and knocking him on his back.

The impact took his breath away and, as he was trying to get his bearing, he heard a concerned shout from the walkway.

"I'm okay." he wheezed out giving everyone a thumbs up.

"Just... gonna lay here for a bit."

With a grimace of pain he hoisted himself up unto his elbows to get a better view of what was going on. Blue had Echo on the ground with her killer claw on Echo's neck, both his girls sporting new scratches that bled slightly.

Echo huffed, but in the end gave a weak sounding warble and Blue let her go. Seeing Blue heading his way he stood up quickly but calmly, having no desire to look weak. Even if he trusted Blye a smidgen more than the rest.

His baby girl stopped just before him, and he slowly raised his right hand to caress the side of her head. She growled quietly as his hand approached but when his fingers worked their magic she slightly leaned into his hand. After a short moment, however, she growled again, more loudly this time, shook her head, and head butted him in the chest, forcing him take a step back to maintain balance, before she began walking away towards Charlie and Delta. The pair having stood back and watched the fight, rather than participated.

Up on the walkway the Weasley brothers watched with interest. Bill had finally found someone more crazy than his brother and Charlie was enamored with the mini dragons.

"You know… we could make this easier on him." Bill said smirking, an amused glint in his eyes.

"How?" Simon Masrani asked, intrigued. He could still see the three velociraptors socializing, the fourth one that charged Owen in the beginning hid in the undergrowth. The raptor trainer was slowly inching his way towards the trio.

"Everybody here knows about the specifics of why we're here?" Bill asked throwing a significant glance at Barry.

"If you mean magic, then yes. Bit hard to believe, but Owen would not lie to me." Barry answered, scanning the tree line for the probably sulking raptor.

"Well then, we could, in theory, try a spot of human transfiguration on him." Bill said with a nod towards Owen in the enclosure.

"We shouldn't, Bill." Albus cautioned, having quickly grasped what the younger wizard wanted to try.

"But it's brilliant and mostly harmless. Not to mention, a piece of transfiguration that… involved won't hold all that long, either.," Charlie said with glee. "We should try, brother mine."

"Hey Mr. Grady… Owen!" Bill raised his voice to get the man's attention. "We want to try something, it's going to be a wild ride, but we can maybe help you!"

"Boys, you really shouldn't." Dumbledore frowned.

"I know what you're thinking Professor." Charlie put a hand on the aged wizard's shoulder and patted it comfortingly. His smile, though, seemed far more appropriate for his younger twin brother's faces. "But it's not muggle abuse, if he's willing."

"Muggle abuse?" Claire asked instantly worried.

"Casting spells on muggles, I mean non-magicals, is rather frowned upon." Charlie supplied.

However before anyone could say anything a spell went flying from Bill's wand towards Owen, who, to his credit, didn't even flinch when it hit him. The redhead that cast the spell sagged somewhat and had to catch the railing for support.

"Merlin's balls, I'm not doing this again…" Bill wheezed out. The problem he mused, was how much power was required for such a generic spell. It was a quirk of magic; if you didn't know exactly what you were doing and willed the magic to fill in the blanks for you it was a bitch on the wizard's energy. And while there hadn't been a death due to magical exhaustion by itself- at least not one that was ever recorded - like with any strenuous activity, falling unconscious was a probability.

Seeing that Bill Weasley was going to be alright, everybody turned their eyes back onto Owen, with muggles gasping and the wizards watching, almost bored.

* * *

Harry stood under the starry sky in their nest, which he had 'lovingly' christened The Dirt Patch. He looked down at his lightly tanned, human, five fingered hand with wonder. He had done it and now was officially an animagus.

The first thing he noticed was how his sight had improved to match the senses of his animal form, however his ability to see heat seemingly hadn't transferred. He could tell that his sense of smell was better and was, somewhat, sure that his sense of taste was too.

After careful examination he also felt more pronounced canine teeth and better defined muscles. He would never look like a bodybuilder, he didn't have the body type for it, but he now had a proper swimmer's build if he had to guess.

By some miracle of animagus magic, he still had his clothes, though he'd discarded all of them except for his pants. All of them became too small to wear comfortably and more than a little blood stained. He would have ditched the pants, too if it weren't for the fact that no one would probably appreciate seeing him naked. What's more his primal instincts were far quieter while he was human and so human sensibilities reasserted themselves quite suddenly, and so he felt his cheeks heat up when he thought about going around starkers.

" _Everything all right Green-Eyes?"_ A massive snout bumped him in the shoulder and he automatically began to stroke it.

" _Yeah, it's just strange."_ Harry was instantly pleased when he could still understand and speak to her, even if he felt his vocal chords strain to do so. Whatever he would decide to call this language, it was rough and guttural; unlike the smooth, sibilant Parseltongue. He was betting that it would creep out anyone that heard it, even more than him talking with snakes. Speaking of others…

" _Pale-Mother we… I can't live here all the time."_ Harry instantly tensed as he said those words. After Dumbledore's first visit he tried to slowly explain it to her, but she didn't understand a lot of the concepts he was talking about.

" _You told me so before."_ She huffed. The Indominus was in a quandary. She wanted her hatchling happy, but he insisted that being happy meant he had to leave. It was only natural, she supposed. Her instincts told her so and they hadn't mislead her so far. But, then she would be alone again…

She saw him shift forms as he approached her and nuzzled her chin.

" _We still have many days before I have to go… I think."_ Harry would be damned if he allowed himself to be dragged back to the Dursleys for the rest of the summer. He could probably talk Dumbledore into letting him stay on the island, fighting tooth and claw for it if necessary.

Although, now that he thought about it, why would Dumbledore bring the two oldest Weasley brothers here? Something was going on.

However, the bigger problem were the muggles… It would be hard to miss his presence on the island. That meant he would need to get into their good graces and he hadn't exactly made the best first impression.

" _You're thinking too hard, my hatchling."_ The adult Indominus said as she settled down for the evening.

" _You are probably right."_ Harry answered while settling down by her side. " _But when the old man comes, I'll still have to speak with him... Maybe go with him for a time."_

An unhappy growl escaped the larger Indominus and she curled tightly around her adopted hatchling. However, she said nothing, allowing them both to slowly fall asleep.

* * *

Owen had closed his eyes when the ball of light sent his way hit him. He really didn't know what to expect, beside the fact that it would not be lethal, he was quite certain of that.

The sensation of being twisted like a pretzel and his bones moving around left him nauseous, though. In a few heartbeats, he felt his center of mass shift. So much so that he had to lean forward to not fall.

His girls gave out surprised warbles and growls.

" _...-ong? Alpha?!"_ a voice he didn't recognize shouted.

"Owen! Oh my god!" The raptor wrangler recognized Claire's voice. It was full of disbelief and concern. He smiled, cute.

When he stopped feeling like puking, he sighed and growled in annoyance.

His thoughts came to a screeching halt when he heard that particular sound escaping him.

When a scent he didn't recognize entered his nostrils, and he heard one of his girls breathing close by, he opened his eyes to a world he barely recognized. Owen took an involuntary step back when he realized just how close Blue was.

" _Alpha?"_ The young, female voice corresponded to a warble Blue made. His eyes widened.

" _Holly shit Blue! You can talk!"_ once again the sounds that escaped his not-really-feeling-right mouth made him freeze. He began noticing things about himself from that point, starting to understand what the wizards did to him.

Both parties were stunned into silence, still trying to understand what had happened.

Blue and her other three sisters - Echo was drawn back from the jungle part of the enclosure by the commotion - stared at their Alpha as he thoroughly inspected himself, making happy and annoyed growls. One moment their Alpha was his two legged, stupid self... just to change into a Hunter like them in the next instant.

The non-magical people on the walkway could only gape at the spectacle bellow them.

"This is something else I'll admit." Barry spoke quietly, with awe in his voice. Oh the possibilities...

"Truly amazing. How long will he be like that?" Simon asked, looking at the redheads.

"An hour at most, probably something closer to half an hour." Charlie answered for his brother, the man still looking like he had run a marathon.

"Look, something happening!" Clair pointed, directing Simon's attention back to the enclosure.

Bellow them, Owen wasn't quite certain if he wanted to punch the redhead that did this to him, or buy him a beer in thanks. At least every part of the body seemed to be working fine. As far as he could tell, at least. With that out of the way he could focus on his girls, who, apparently, were far more intelligent than he gave them credit for.

" _Uhh… hello girls."_ He looked at all of them, before spotting Echo sporting what he assumed was the velociraptor equivalent of a smirk. A shiver traveled down his spine.

" _So, sister, now that he has teeth and claws… can we fight properly?"_ Echo asked as she moved to Blue's side. Those words made Owen tense.

Blue stayed silent for a moment, before the instinctual part of her as the Beta of the pack won over. Seeing as their Alpha was now like them, he couldn't count on being treated differently...

" _Yes sister."_ Blue warbled as she gave their Alpha a narrow eyed look. Her instincts egging her on... It was her chance to become an alpha. However, she knew her sister held a grudge and she was loath to get in her way.

Echo hissed her challenge, which made Owen turn his head upwards to give the redheads a death glare. " _Eyes on me Alpha!"_

That got his attention just in time to clumsily move out of the way of Echo's charge.

" _You wanna fight Echo?"_ Owen shouted with a screech, irritation and anger coming through clearly.

While he was amazed by what the wizards did, it also meant he was forced into this mess of a power struggle. As an animal behaviorist he understood why the girls wanted to do this. Hell, even he could feel something gnawing at his mind about this situation, pushing him to win and prove himself. But that didn't mean he was liking it, he could potentially land at the bottom of the pack hierarchy for crying out loud! Years of his blood, sweat, and tears would be wasted! And so he decided that Bill Weasley's face was in for a remodeling, if he survived this, that is…

" _Alright Owen don't think… just do."_

"Do something!" Claire turned her best angry glare at the men, when she saw Owen-the-raptor getting attacked.

"We can't, not without irreparably damaging Owen's relations with the girls." Barry said gripping the railing in worry.

"He's right, that down there is a pack finally building a proper hierarchy." Charlie mused, slightly worried. He should have accounted for that possibility. This could turn ugly, if the spell broke at the wrong moment…

"I'll get him out of there if the need arises, you have my word."

"Owen! Make this quick the spell will not hold forever!" Bill managed to shout, but no one saw any reaction from the ensorcelled man.

"He didn't hear." Clair said, now transfixed by the fight going on below them.

From their point of view it was a fast paced, brutal fight. The setting sun's light made one hell of a backdrop, as claw and bite marks began accumulating on both of the fighters.

After a few minutes of exchanging glancing blows with claws and some nasty bites, the male raptor capitalised on Echo's mistake when she overextended, and got in a dirty shot onto her abdomen. Echo went down and Owen, not wasting any time, mimicked Blue by putting his killer claw on his little troublemaker's neck.

" _Yield!"_ The growl was far more aggressive than he intended but he had heard the message about his limited time. He had no time to pussy foot around. Echo must have been surprised by the ferocity as she whimpered submissively far more quickly and more intensely, than she did when Blue downed her.

"I think he heard, Claire." Simon chuckled when he saw Owen win and almost immediately go after the one with the blue stripe.

As all that was going on Dumbledore was deep in thought. Right now, introducing Harry to this pack of predators didn't exactly sound like the best of ideas. What he saw finally made him realize fully that maybe… Maybe he should reschedule the classes for Harry's year. He had a grim feeling that mixing Gryffindors and Slytherins would be just asking for a disaster.

For now, though, the old wizard focused on the enclosure and the raptors fighting in it. As the other five were gasping and cursing at some of the hits he was, understandably, a touch distracted. And, even though seemed to be doing quite well, he too should be ready to intervene.

Blue was shocked when their Alpha issued her a challenge.

She was full of pride when he gave her a worthy fight.

The Beta was not ashamed when she growled submissively beneath the panting male raptor. She would be limping for days, thanks to a wound he gave her. He would bear the scars on his muzzle she gave him.

" _Anyone else?"_ Owen hissed as he looked up at Charlie and Delta, still keeping Blue pinned.

Charlie and Delta were as shocked as their other siblings by the forcefulness of their Alpha. Seeing him ready for another fight despite the wounds he sported, both lowered their heads and made submissive warbles.

" _Good…"_ With a deep inhale the transformed raptor trainer released Blue, took a few steps and made himself comfortable on the ground. To be honest he felt like shit and would have loved nothing more than just sleep for a day or two.

Owen was surprised when the girls arranged themselves around him, with Blue being the closest. Instantly he was bombarded with questions, the deluge only interrupted when Blue and Echo tended to their wounds.

When he realized he faced what were in essence four gossiping teenage girls, he almost wished another fight would break out.

When Blue started to tend to his wounds, after he snapped at her reflexively at the moment of pain from her tongue on his tender wounds, he felt mortification for some reason he could not pinpoint. The worst things was, he could hear the snickers and poorly conceived jokes and laughter from the walkway.

After that he just prayed for the spell to end.


	5. Chapter 5: A new beginning

**A/N:** So another one for you to enjoy! At this rate I predict 2-3 more chapters strictly in JW, before we jump into the Fourth Year.

 **Edited** 10/10/2018

* * *

"Stop squirming Mr. Grady!" The nurse currently cleaning his cuts snapped. For the third time. In his defense, he had, had his face at least partially opened by a raptor.

It was well past 9 P.M. when Claire and Owen were dropped off by Berry at the front of the island's only hospital. When the receptionist saw Owen's bleeding face she immediately rushed them to the ER where a doctor and a nurse were waiting.

The main problem were the three deep, diagonal cuts that Blue gave him. While he still had the raptor's body the wounds began to scab after she cleaned them thoroughly, by raptor standards at least. However, when the spell broke, and Owen shifted back into a human, they tore further as they reopened.

The wizards offered to fully heal him, but Owen was reluctant and, in the end, said no. He was quite certain that if the next time he showed up in the enclosure and he was fully healed with no traces of the two fights he won the girls would maul him. After all, Blue had said many times, in their short period of bonding, how he should bear those scars with pride and how they made him look more appealing… with the other three confirming her words. Irregardless of how awkward the entire situation had been.

"I'm still amazed they were so clean.," The doctor that was stitching him murmured. "And... done. Still, we'll keep you overnight. Just to make sure nothing odd crops up. No idea if a dino spit carries anything that might cause a human problems. And don't touch the stitches."

The doctor took off his gloves and dropped them in a close by tray; joining some bloody gauze and the other tools he had used.

"Is that really necessary doc?" Owen went to examine his numbed face with a hand only to get it strongly slapped away by irate Claire; whom had remained at his bedside for the entire time. "What was that for?"

The doctor only glared at Owen and nodded in thanks towards Claire. Both members of the medical staff saw that they would need to give the two some privacy, fast.

"For you being an irresponsible and inconsiderate idiot."

"Are you crying?" Owen cringed inwardly, she probably had a point. He sighed. "Tell you what Claire, when they let me out, why don't we take a day off? Go to a restaurant and then to the beach? We probably need the time to unwind."

"So a date, Owen?" She quickly got rid of the traitorous moisture around her eyes.

"Uh, sure."

"No board pants," Claire said with a small smirk.

"Oh for the love of…" The silent snickering of the nurse as she pulled the curtains closed as she left didn't help him any.

* * *

It was early in the morning when the two pale hybrids were woken up by loud voices.

"Merlin that stinks… And I think I got some on my shoe."

"That was a close one Albus!" A different voice spoke up, quickly followed by a laugh.

"Yes, well… the risks of apparition." That voice Harry recognized immediately as belonging to Dumbledore.

"That's a sign we are close to some kind of nest." The second voice sounded closer than before and far more cautious. "What are you not telling us about Potter, Albus?"

" _What now?"_ Harry heard and felt the aggressive growl of Pale-Mother.

"You will see soon enough, but be on your guard Bill, Charlie."

" _I told you that the old man would be bringing some people with him, that's them."_ Harry spoke as he stood up and stretched. He looked behind him to see her doing the same.

A rustle of the undergrowth in front of them drew the two predators attention. Two redheads froze immediately when they saw them. The bitter scent of fear began filling the air, and while Harry was trying to reign in his instincts when they labeled themselves as prey, Pale-Mother had no such inclination. She took two booming steps forward as she lowered her salivating jaws, before she spotted the strange old man and she stopped advancing with a disappointed grunt.

Harry shifted when he decided that the mental strain of holding back his predatory impulses wasn't worth it. Too much was pushing at him to defend his nest.

"Professor, you coming to our nest was not really the best idea." Harry said as he walked towards them running a hand through his hair in exasperation.

"He… he… but that… how?!" Bill tried and failed to say something, while Charlie had an awestruck expression plastered across his face.

"Also, get a grip on yourselves. You reek of fear and that can get us rather… excited." While it was slightly dulled, he could still smell the fear.

"Can you blame them Harry?" Dumbledore chuckled, eyes twinkling.

"No, I suppose I can't." Harry sighed as he remembered the first time he saw Pale-Mother. Speaking of her… he approached her snout and without hesitation put a hand on it, drawing circles with his thumb to sooth her. " _Try to not eat them, they came to help."_

" _If you say so... "_ She snorted with clear disapproval, however she settled down again, still eyeing the trio of humans.

Charlie Weasley looked at the Indominus with a critical eye, after he managed to get his pounding heart under control. They were briefed this morning about what they would be seeing… but bland text and numbers simply couldn't communicate either the primal, savage beauty of the beast or the pant's filling terror of it looking at you like dinner. He could only compare it to the Hungarian Horntail, which, while bigger, was only so by virtue of having wings.

The pale hybrid instilled in him the same feeling as one of the great dragons. One misstep would be his last while handling this thing.

The shocker though, was that apparently Harry-bloody-Potter took that form as an animagus. Charlie clearly saw the intent in his emerald eyes before he reverted into a human. This was so messed up on so many levels that he felt a headache coming...

"Well, we're teaching the kid Occlumency, that's for sure!" Charlie exclaimed after he began thinking about why he came to the island. "At least we can start him on it."

Bill on the other hand studied Harry Potter closely. The teen was in desperate need of a bath and only wore pants that had seen better days. The many fresh scars on his body also drew his attention. However it were the eyes that made him look to the side, disgruntled. There was something definitely powerful, and terribly inhuman, lurking in the boy's gaze. It made his skin crawl. When he heard Charlie's comment, he wholeheartedly agreed.

"An excellent idea Charlie." Dumbledore commented. He had plans of teaching the boy that art in a few years, but the redhead had the right idea in considering his current circumstances.

"So what's Occlumency? And why exactly did you bring those two to the island?" Harry decided that he would just get to heart of the matter, as he was in a rather poor mood right now.

"Occlumency is the art of shielding your mind, a counter to Legilimency. It also benefits your memory, information absorption rate and improves control over your emotions. I do believe you will be mostly interest in the last part," The aged wizard said, looking knowingly at Harry. "Concerning your second question Harry, those two will help with handling of the adult when we get her back into her enclosure."

That got Harry's full attention as he narrowed his eyes and relayed what was just said to Pale-Mother. She jumped to her feet, enraged. With a roar she charged forward to kill the intruders.

"Stupefy!" Three voices intoned. While that was going on, Harry was once again, within the span of less than two weeks, struck with indecision. In the end, when Pale-Mother was knocked out by the voley and fell to the ground with a thud, Harry rubbed his nose and closed his eyes with an explosive exhale, trying to ignore instincts that demanded blood.

"She is going to be pissed when she wakes up, I hope you realize that?" Harry finally said; leveling a deadpan stare at the trio as he went to stand between them and the unconscious dinosaur. "She's... not really fond of that enclosure."

"This is the only way the muggles will allow her to live on this island." Dumbledore spoke sadly, looking at Harry apologetically. "It's also the place where they would be happiest to let you roam in your other form. Though, they may be willing to allow you mingle with a few other, until you are grown to a certain point."

"Not really surprising." Harry grimaced. He had a decision here to make, it wasn't stated outright, but he understood what was implied. Then an idea formed in his mind. "You said they would not allow her to live free on this island? So, what about moving her to a different one?"

Dumbledore stroked his long beard, thinking.

"This has some merit. However, we would have to discuss this with Simon and Claire. That reminds me, Bill call Ms. Dearing and organise the transport."

"On it." And to the astonishment of Harry, pulled out a smartphone that somehow worked.

"I want one of those…" Harry blurted out before he could stop himself, making Bill laugh.

"Buy one and I'll try to make the adjustments."

"You're taking all of this surprisingly well Harry, if I can call you Harry?" Charlie asked, observing the lad carefully. He was used to seeing dragon's fiercely defending their nesting area and their family. He saw no reason to not watch out for similar behavior now, considering the situation as he understood it.

"Believe me, my new instincts would love nothing more than see me shredding you to ribbons. However, their pull is weaker while I'm in human body." He said smiling, showing off his larger, sharper canines, making Charlie tighten his grip on his wand. Harry saw and smelled his reaction, grinning even wider. He was beginning to wonder if messing with people would always be this amusing!

"I do have some good news though." Dumbledore began, wanting to ease the tension. "All of this, ties into it. You can stay on the island until August thirtieth, but only if you adhere to the conditions the muggles will present to you. And your… accommodations are a part of those."

Harry wanted to do a victory dance, but the thought of having to agree to restraining his and Pale-Mother's freedom killed that urge quickly.

"Also I would like to think that, in the meantime, Bill and Charlie will help you improve your school work."

"We will?" Both brothers asked as they looked at their old headmaster, that was not something they had discussed.

"They would?" Harry asked with a bit of dismay in his voice.

"You're not a bad student Harry, but you could always do better. Also, with you being an animagus, a blood magic based one at that, I would like for all of us to better understand what that piece of magic has done and why."

The young wizard had to admit that it was a good reason to study. He did wonder what the magic really did to him, beside the obvious. With a sigh Harry came to a decision, the only one available really, that didn't end with unnecessary bloodshed...

"I'll give it a shot, all of it." He stroked Pale-Mother's snout as he heard an engine in the distance. "But as I said earlier, she will most certainly not like it."

"That's why we are counting on your help." Bill said, warily eyeing the adult Indominus.

The predatory grin Harry sent his way made him take a step back. 'And those damned eyes…'

"Now that would be unfair, three against one? Besides, in all honesty I had mediocre success at controlling my instincts when in my other form. So don't count on special treatment from me."

"Great…" Charlie grunted. They really had to get Harry started on Occlumency. "In that case, don't count on special treatment from us either when you decide to run around in your other form."

"Fair enough." Harry said, extending a hand which Bill tentatively shook. The older wizard had to quickly withdraw his hand, wincing, when the teen squeezed extra hard. "Sorry, I still don't know my new strength, it would seem." Harry looked entirely too innocent.

Any further talk centered about Harry's days in the jungle, as the four wizards waited for the muggles to arrive. Which, thankfully for Harry, was sooner than expected. The sound of a large transport helicopter that hung above them was almost painful for Harry. The three jeeps that loudly drove into the nesting area didn't help either.

From one of the Park's jeeps four men in black ACU gear got out and move directly towards the - by now infamous in their ranks - Indominus. They were hand picked for this operation because they had an exemplary record. And they had signed a few more secrecy agreements, even if some clauses were strangely worded. With the amount of questions running through their heads as they waited to secure the transport cables, they could see why all the extra paperwork was needed.

Simon Masrani and Claire Dearing got out of another jeep and approached the wizards, getting their first look at a boy they realized was the missing Harry Potter.

The young wizard was in kind studying the two adults in business attire. For some reason his gaze and thoughts were drawn more towards the woman, whose red hair waved wildly in the wind generated by the helicopter's rotors, before he realized they were locked in a staring contest.

Claire raised a brow in question when she found herself the target of the youth's studying gaze. Considering that she knew the poor kid had been isolated, and the fact he'd just gotten a crash course in Puberty from Hell, she didn't default to her usual 'cut their knees out from under them' strategy for dealing with people checking her out. Instead, she just gave a small smirk.

When he blushed and looked away, she chuckled.

"I appreciate the thought, but you're about a decade too young for that work, kid." Claire had to almost shout to be heard over the noise of the helicopter as it was beginning its ascent; the Indominus secured with cables and belts beneath it. She hadn't climbed the corporate ladder just by being and looking nice. She had to hold in a laugh as she saw him sputtering, trying to say something over the noise to probably save himself from further embarrassment. She moved closer so she wouldn't need to shout. "I'm Claire Dearing in case you've forgotten."

The rest of adults also seemingly found that interaction amusing, some restraining their urge to laugh better than others.

"Don't feel too bad about it Mr. Potter. Claire has been running this park from the beginning and that requires a certain degree of… ferocity." Simon said also taking a few steps towards the teen and extending his hand. "Simon Masrani, CEO of Masrani Global."

To be honest, Harry was confused when he shook hands with Simon. For some reason his instincts insisted that the Dearing woman should be higher on his 'to respect' list than the man. Added to that were the other thoughts that flashed through his head when he saw her. Her loose, white blouse, and red hair whipping around in the artificial wind captivated a base part of him… He blamed puberty.

"Nice to meet you too, sir." The young wizard barely remembered his manners.

"There's a lot to discuss about your stay on the island. I'm sure Mr. Dumbledore mentioned something about it, at least," Simon put a hand on the teen's bare shoulder and began gently steering him towards the jeep they arrived in. "Unfortunately I've stayed too long on the island as it is, so you will be dealing with Claire and Mr. Grady mostly."

Harry let himself be guided towards the car, the noise of the helicopter dying down as it flew further away. He could see the curious glances the ACU team sent his way, as well as the black skinned man driving the other jeep. The young animagus was surprised to find Simon climbing into the driver's seat of their car. Harry moved to the back seat just before Claire made herself comfortable at the front passenger's seat.

Without the helicopter hovering above them, it quickly became awkwardly quiet.

"Soo… you being here means you know about magic?" Harry began shortly after Simon pulled out on a dirt road. He could probably guess that at this point they knew, yes. But he decided to hear it from them. That it was as good a conversation opener in his opinion as any other certainly didn't need to be mentioned.

"Mr. Dumbledore decided to explain it to us more in depth, just after we bumped into you on the day the Indominus escaped." Simon glanced into the rear mirror as he spoke.

"Indominus?" Was that what they called him and Pale-Mother?

"Indominus Rex to be precise, first ever genetic hybrid created by doctor Henry Wu. Hopefully the last, too." Claire spoke with a clear hint of distaste in her voice.

Harry's eyes widened. Genetic hybrid? He may not have too much knowledge about mundane science, but he got the gist of what it meant. He just couldn't do normal, could he?

"A hybrid? But a hybrid of what?"He had seen few dinosaurs in the Park before his accidental animagus transformation and he couldn't really imagine what his form was a hybrid of.

"Mostly Tyrannosaurus Rex and Velociraptor; although we get a lot of flack for calling them that from the archaeologists." Claire was in her business mode, her tone even and confident. "The brilliant doctor also decided to mix in a lot of other DNA to get the best possible result. If you want, we can give you access to the relevant files."

Harry almost winced at the amount of venom the woman put into the word 'brilliant'. He got the feeling that her and that Wu guy didn't get along.

"Thank you, I would appreciate that." The young wizard said, after he thought over what she said. It would be good to know what his form truly was. Maybe he could gain some insight about the mechanics of his Indominus Rex form's more unique abilities.

"It's the least we can do. We will also have to discuss your accommodation here on the island." Claire began and she turned around to look at him. "Depending on which form you move around in, we'll need to keep an eye on you. I hope you can understand that having a young Indominus walking around free isn't really an option."

Harry grimaced, as they talked the Indominus instincts were getting quieter, but the mention of restricting his freedom made them lash out. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, concentrating only on how the jeep jumped this way and that on the dirt road.

"Yeah, I get it. It's just…" He spoke quietly, not wanting to admit how he felt about the absolute freedom he tasted during this past two weeks. An extreme rarity for him.

"You don't want to be locked up again?" Claire's tone was gentle, but it was enough to sour the mood in the car.

"How do you know that?" The angry glare and accusation in his voice was too obvious. Harry never talked about his time at the Dursleys with anyone. Even the Weasleys only knew what he allowed them to guess. So how did she know?

"Mr. Dumbledore told us about you. When you were trying to figure out how to turn back into human, he went to gather more solid evidence, among other things. The last we heard about that sordid affair he was truly considering alerting the police and child services about your case."

While Claire spoke, Harry was experiencing violent mood swings. Two things stood out to him in the end. Dumbledore knew and did nothing! He clenched his fists, deciding to settle on anger before it vanished with a heavy sigh. It would seem that he and the Headmaster were overdue for a serious talk. But, for now, the teen decided that a change of topic was nothing else, he wanted to move the talk away from his life at Privet Drive.

"So, where will I be staying while I'm not running around as an Indominus Rex?"

"Just to be clear, as long as you're in your human form no one expects anything of you. However, if you decide to change, it would have be inside the enclosure. Your form will grow into a multi ton apex predator, Harry. You have to realize what a terrifying force it is for us mere humans." She ended with a small smile.

Harry snorted, amused at her last words, he didn't need an ego boost. He was quite aware what he would be able to do when his form reached adult size, Pale-Mother demonstrated that very well. Multiple times.

"As to your human accommodations we have several options, but decided it should be your choice. We can allow you to keep your original hotel room, we could move you to a penthouse in the hotel if you really wanted, or we can set up something by the Indominus enclosure. But that would be not as comfortable obviously."

Harry contemplated the options. Eventually, as his thoughts drifted along, he noticed they left the jungle and were on the plains form where he could see the Jurassic World buildings in the distance.

"I think the best place for me, currently, would be by the enclosure." His answer was met with a nod and a knowing smile.

"We will get you there tomorrow, first thing in the morning." Claire said as she turned back to facing forward. "Right now you need a bath and new clothes."

It was a wonder how he hadn't thought about his state until it was mentioned. He had to fight hard not to blush when he realized what the scent of Claire Dearing was doing to him, now that he was paying attention to her. Harry began to think that his animagus ability would ultimately be a pain in the ass, if this was going to be a thing now. Closing his eyes and focusing, he tried to reign in the corresponding instinct…

He didn't notice when the bumpy, dirt road became a smooth, concrete one.

"All right, you remember your room number? Harry? Harry?!" when they stopped by the hotel and Claire turned around she found the boy… meditating? Sleeping? She reached over and shook him awake. The warning growl was not what she expected, although he did wake up and look around disoriented.

"Ugh, we're here already?"

"Yes, now go to your room and relax, take a bath. The restaurant and bar is closed but you can order Room Service. I'll see you tomorrow as early as possible, so don't stay up all night," Claire was talking even as the teen was jumping out of the jeep.

"Thank you and see you tomorrow." Harry waived as Simon and Claire drove away, already talking. With them gone Harry's good mood began to slowly evaporate.

Harry warily observed the other three wizards getting out of a jeep, and when the dark skinned man drove away, an awkward silence fell for the second time that day as the four wizards stood and eyed each other.

"Harry I…" Dumbledore, sensing the mood of his student, and, to his shame, after a surface scan with Legilimency wanted to apologize for what that gnawed at the young wizards mind. Something that directly involved the aged wizard.

"I would rather not speak with you right now, Headmaster." And with that, Harry turned and stalked inside the hotel.

"What's gotten into him?" Bill asked, perplexed by young Potter's behavior.

"He will tell you in his own time, if at all. Suffice to say it's highly personal and it is something that is wholly my fault and the result of extreme negligence." Albus seemingly aged by the decades in the Weasley's brothers eyes. "Let's get to our rooms boys, tomorrow will be a busy day."

Later, well after the sun had set, Harry was lying in the comfortable bed, clean after an hour long soak in the bathtub. At first, he hadn't noticed it, but someone had left a laptop in his room. Curious, he turned it on only to find all the files relevant to the Indominus Rex, just as Claire promised. What he read gave him a lot to think about and analyze what he discovered in the jungle. At least now everything about his peculiar animagus form began making sense.

What he did not expect was what she meant by "relevant files". Recordings from the ACU team they encountered on that fateful day were also there. It was an... experience, seeing things from their perspective.

He hadn't really thought about that particular encounter too much, he didn't want to.

However, now a resolve had been born in him to get a grip on his new instincts. While the strength and freedom his second form granted him was incredible, he realized that more than anything… he wanted control. He had never had a lot of that in his life, so he would be damned if he lost whatever control over his own body he had.

With that resolved, he turned off the TV and shrugged his way out of the fluffy bathrobe - leaving him in the nude, the clothes in his backpack were just a bit too small - before throwing onto a table in the corner, where the rest of his meal was. And what a nice rare, steak that had been…

Before he knew it, Harry collapsed onto the bed and drifted off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6: Revelations

**AN:** A new chapter! And this one is special... It has been beta read! Huzzah! **Alvor the Warhawk** did a fantastic job imho. So, if you see a rise in quality you know who to thank :)

* * *

Harry was woken up by the sound of the sliding balcony doors being opened. It took him a few seconds to remember that he was no longer in the nest but in a hotel. His brow furrowed, it was kind of breezy…

"Rise and shine Harry!" The voice of Bill Weasley speared through his sleepy mind waking the younger wizard up with a jump and a scream, that totally didn't sound girly; when he realized why it felt breezy in his room.

"What the bloody hell Bill." Harry quickly tried to cover himself up, with the covers that he slept on, not under…naked. It was, after all, hot on the island. To his shock Bill just shrugged and laughed, watching Harry's struggle to save at least some degree of modesty.

"Harry, I helped raise five younger brothers and a baby sister. You're not sporting anything I haven't seen before." Bill said poking at a piece of baked potato that was left over from Harry's late dinner.

"And there _are_ things I wish I could just obliviate." the redhead murmured as he munched on the bit of cold potato.

"That's all well and good but I kind of like my privacy." Harry pointed out, sitting cross legged with his lower half covered by the bed sheet. "Anyway what are you doing here?"

"You had a problem with clothes, remember the call yesterday?"

Ah, that. It was a spur of the moment thing. Out of curiosity Harry called reception right after he ordered his food yesterday and asked if they knew where the Weasley brothers were spending the night. It wasn't a big surprise that all four wizards were in the same hotel, on the same floor even, it was probably done to minimize the issues associate with their particular group.

After that he asked for the call to be redirected to their room. Bill picked up the phone and Harry asked if the older wizard had anyway to adjust his clothes.

The teen had not expected that call to lead to to the older wizard barging into his room, unannounced, at some ungodly time in the morning.

"Yeah, they're in the black-red backpack," Harry watched as the eldest Weasley rummaged through his expanded backpack, before the rad head sighed and moved to unceremoniously dump everything onto the bed. Harry wisely scooted back.

"How much bigger do you need them?" Bill asked as he drew his wand from... somewhere on his left bicep, making Harry blink. The older wizard was wearing a blue, short sleeve button-up shirt. For all intents and purposes Bill just drew his wand from thin air.

"Notice-me-not wand holster."

"What?" Harry asked after shaking his head.

"You were staring. That's where I keep my wand, you should get one. It beats keeping your wand in a pocket." the older wizard said tapping something with his wand, before a leather rectangular wand holster, with straps holding it in place, appeared on his arm. "See? Now, clothes, Harry?"

"Uh, right. I think I may have grown up two, three inches?"

Bill eyed the youth for a while, judging his size, before nodding and waving his wand over the pile of clothes, after which it slightly expanded.

"It should hold for a while; but we will need to go to mainland for a shopping trip." With that done and said Bill holstered his wand and began leaving Harry's room, just before he closed the doors he remembered something quite important. "Be in the lobby in half an hour."

Harry rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Time to move, then…" he tossed the covers to the side, now that he was alone in the room, Harry didn't really care about his state of undress. What followed was a quick shower and in less than half an hour he was waiting in the hotel lobby, dressed in simple blue jeans and a white, button down shirt and a pair of sneakers.

He had a few minutes to spare so Harry decided to wander around the lobby. There was a young woman sitting behind the reception desk and Harry had to fight a smirk as he caught her eyeing him - from behind her rectangular glasses - more than a few times. He supposed that with his newly filled out athletic frame and a healthy tan, he did look a year or two older than he truly was.

And if half the stories he'd heard from Padfoot, his father, and Sirius, had attracted more than their share of attention from the fairer sex.

Up in his room he did take a moment to study his reflection. And he had to admit that even he was surprised at the changes; it was as if his body was a the pinnacle of what was humanly possible physically, he felt that way too.

If this is what the blood magic could grant, there was no wonder how according to Dumbledore some warriors of old coveted their enemy's blood. He would have to ask the old wizard for the specific book…

With a sigh Harry realized his thoughts inevitably gravitated towards the Headmaster. Sooner or later they would have to sit down and have a talk, but Harry put that thought on hold as he saw the Weasley brothers approaching.

Charlie whistled when he saw the young black haired wizard.

"Harry, I hope you're ready for a gaggle of rabid fangirls following you at Hogwarts from now on!" Charlie said with a fake grim expression as he patted the younger wizard on his shoulder.

The grimace that Harry made caused both brothers to snort in amusement.

"Do we need to give you the Talk too?" Bill asked, while shoving the other two lightly to make them move.

"What talk?" Harry asked kind of absentmindedly, thinking over what Charlie said. He had enough on his plate as it was, dealing with nosy teenage girls was not something he wanted to do. And with Ginny still making 'eeps' every time he walked past he felt he had an idea of what to expect.

Both redheads shared _a glance_ and smiled toothily. Let it not be said that Weasley boys didn't take utter, bloody advantage of an opportunity for mischief when one was so freely presented to them...except for Percy. But that wasn't talked about in polite company.

"We can discuss that this evening." Charlie answered as they went through the revolving doors. "Right now we have a few stops to make. We should be at the Indominus enclosure shortly after dinner, if all goes well."

That information almost made Harry stop. It was kind of strange really, the longer he stayed human the less influenced by his instincts he felt. But...maybe that was the effect of him focusing on other things than the primal necessities of a carnivore's life. That, itself, made him blink, human day to day life was so… cluttered, he realized.

"You ok there Harry?" Charlie reacted as he saw the black haired teen stumble slightly.

In the meantime Bill was busy talking over the phone, getting directions to where they were supposed to go.

Harry shook his head. ""Yeah, just had a silly thought. So where do we need to go today?"

"Well, the muggles insisted on you getting a physical and taking a small blood sample."

The last one made Harry frown deeply. He had only briefly read about blood magic and had experienced it himself in a major way; but all that made him highly reluctant to just leaving his blood lying around.

Charlie, seeing Harry's reaction, decided to try and soothe any of the teenager's worries.

"We were promised that the sample would be burned the moment they were done with it. To that Dearing woman's credit, she realizes how dangerous of a substance your blood has become." If for the wrong reasons. The muggles only feared, that the Indominus' DNA could be extracted from the teen's blood. "Speaking of, she invited us for a short brunch."

"Right then, this way," Bill waved them over and the trio began a leisurely trek through the empty Park towards the island's only hospital.

The walk was relatively short only taking them about half an hour, but it was enough for the two brothers to get to know Harry that much better. They quickly came to the conclusion that whatever happened before Hogwarts was a sore subject for the young wizard, so they sticked with his three years in wizarding world.

By the time they entered the hospital, the Weasley men were impressed with Harry. There was a promise made to talk about his second year and Ginny in greater detail later on; neither of them knew much, only what their mother told them or they managed to wrangle out of their baby sister. Of course, their usually high-spirited, youngest redhead was extremely tight lipped about her first year at Hogwarts, making Harry their best option for learning exactly what happened.

Both elder brothers saw the situation as unhealthy and if helping their precious sister meant going for information behind her back, so be it.

When the trio was brought to a lab by a nurse, all three wizards shifted uncomfortably when they saw a man in his early forties in the white coat, sitting at a lab table, sizing the trio up.

"Ah, good morning. I'm doctor Stephens. I've been nominated to be your go to doctor due to a number of compounding factors." The doctor spoke with a slight accent, one that none of them couldn't place; he wasn't European of that they were certain. Waiting until the nurses left, he spoke again.

"I'm a squib you see."

The tension left the trio of wizards after hearing that.

"I was outed by that old timer Dumbledore." Stephens didn't sound too happy about that, he stood up. "But what's done is done, so…let's get on with the show."

With murmured introductions, the two older wizards were asked to leave the room.

What followed for Harry was almost a torturously boring two and a half hours of seemingly random tests. He was measured, weighed, made to breathe through some strange device, and sensor stickers were placed on his body as he was made to run on a treadmill. Soon enough he zoned out; running on autopilot.

At the end of it all, Harry sat shirtless and watched with some discomfort as a single, small vial of his blood was taken for further examination.

"I have to say, I have _never_ seen an almost fourteen year old with such good results. In particular your cardiovascular fitness is off the charts. Whatsmore, is that's mind boggling for a wizard considering how prone to laziness magic leaves most."

The doctor wanted to rant further but a sudden crack and a faint sizzle made both of them turn to face the table behind them; where the stand with the vial of his blood was. Only, the vial was shattered and the plastic stand and the table were slightly sizzling where the blood touched it. "Dear God…"

The doctor looked with wide eyes and mouth gaping at the teen, who was in a similar state of shock.

"Well, if that's anything to go by, you don't have to worry about getting sick…Ever." Stephens said; weakly trying to comprehend what he was seeing.

"I have an idea what caused this..." Harry finally spoke after the shock began to pass.

"Do tell?" The doctor spoke taking a deep breath; shaking his head and beginning to move around the lab gathering some bottles with alkaline based reagents; hoping to clean the newly made, seemingly acidic, mess.

"A year ago I was bitten by a basilisk and then healed by phoenix." Curiosity piqued, Harry stood up to get closer to the failed blood sample.

He hadn't seen the violent jerk of the doctor, as he almost dropped the two bottles he was carrying.

"You know what, I don't even want to know." Then the doctor remembered the needle. Hurriedly, he moved to the tray, grimacing when he saw the implement was also slowly melting.

"But it doesn't make sense." Harry muttered watching as the table was slowly eaten away by his blood. Without care or fear he touched the blood, his blood, and rubbed it between his fingers.

"What are you doing?!" The doctor asked in a panicked voice; seeing the teen carelessly handling the caustic liquid. Only to be baffled once more when there was no reaction. It was moments like this that Stephens remembered why he loved and hated magic, even if he could not use it, all at once. Magic clashed horribly with his mundane education.

"It's my blood, it would never harm me." Harry didn't quite know why he said it that way, but it was almost like an instinct.

At this point the redheads barged in.

"We heard raised voices, everything alright Harry?" Bill asked, clearly agitated.

"Yeah, we just made a… discovery." Harry said and quickly explained what they found and soon enough four pair of eyes watched the still dissolving table with emotions ranging from curiosity to irritation.

"Did you test it with organic matter?" Bill asked after a few minutes of silence.

"What do you mean?" Stephens responded.

"Well, there are some old spells and enchantments that only work on either organic or inorganic matter." Bill was now stroking his chin, this was fascinating. As a professional cursebreaker it was his job to make connections others would not, could not, and he'd seen far too much weirdness, even by magical standards, not to.

"I'll get a leaf from the flower in the corridor." Charlie volunteer quickly moving to do just that.

Not a minute later the quartet watched as Harry's blood stained the leaf, causing it no harm.

"It would explain why I never noticed, not even during my stay here." it was what bothered Harry about this property of his blood. During his hunts he had been wounded, but he'd never seen his blood corroding anything it dripped onto.

"Well that makes examining Mr. Potter's blood or taking a sample almost impossible with muggle equipment." Stephens grumbled.

"That may not be true." Bill eyed the leaf and then Harry speculatively, he had one more theory to test out.

"Huh?" all the oldest Weasley got were three confused stares.

"Harry I would like you to concentrate, as if you were casting a spell, focus on this." Bill waved the blood stained leaf before the young wizards face. "And think of how you do not want your blood taken."

"Blood Magic?!" Charlie grabbed Bill by his arm and forced his older brother to look at him. "Bill you don't go around and put in ideas like that in a young wizard's head! It's illegal and too dangerous."

"You do know my animagus transformation is blood magic based, right?" Harry decided to join the conversation, now interested in what made Charlie react so strongly.

"That was an accident." Charlie grunted out, now irritated.

"You do know I have quite a few bits of dark magic in my repertoire, right? If that's what this is about..." Bill glared at his younger brother until Charlie let go of his arm.

Those words made Harry raise a brow in question. Suddenly he had a lot more question to ask Bill.

"It's practically a must in your field Bill; I know that and it's not what bothers me." Charlie took a breath. "It's just…if word got out it's a one way trip to Azkaban." he said looking at Harry.

Harry's thoughts screech to a halt. Something was _not_ right. A snippet of conversation made its way to the forefront of his mind.

"But there are blood wards around my aunt's house?" Harry asked deep in thought, did that mean that Dumbledore or his mother, or even both of them, risk Azkaban to protect him?

All three of the adults made choking noises at that question and paled.

"Harry, are you sure?" Bill asked and got a nod in return. "Harry, to erect blood wards…it's one of the oldest pieces of magics. Sacrificial Blood Magic, meaning someone had to die for them to be raised. An exchange, if you will."

"That sounds about right, my mum and dad did die to protect me." Harry pointed out.

That killed the mood in the room pretty quickly, which gave Harry time to absorb everything that was said. Was it wrong that he suddenly wanted to know more about the magic that his mother used to protect him, when everybody else said he shouldn't meddle with it?

"I know it's probably not a good moment, but Lily Potter was a genius." Bill whispered with awe as he had a sudden epiphany.

"This is getting kind of private, you should probably find a better place to discuss this than my lab." Stephens said, coughing awkwardly.

The three wizards agreed quickly enough and were out of the hospital, under the blazing tropical sun.

"What did you mean by saying my mum was a genius?" Harry had heard some similar opinions of her thought the last three years in Hogwarts, but now maybe he could get a true glimpse of it.

"Here let me show you…" Bill looked around and quickly guided them to a table by a closed caffe. The three of them sat around a small table as Bill pulled a small, leatherbound journal out of a pocket that was too small to hold it without magic involved. "Now pay attention Harry, you're about to get a glimpse at what the art of warding is about."

He flipped pages upon pages of notes and diagrams, until he found an empty page and pulled out a ball point pen.

"Now to begin with, almost all runic arrays are based on a circle, no matter what kind of magic you want to invoke. It's as close to a perfect, infinite shape we humans can get to." Bill drew a circle, slowly and deliberately, making it as perfect as he could.

"Now, you were a family of three. Your father, your mother and you." the older Weasley marked out three points on the circle. "Three is a magically powerful number and as a family, you were all bound by ties of love, a powerful force in its own right." Bill connected the dots, an image of a triangle inside the circle took shape. Charlie took in a sharp breath. "Your parents cast the magic and sacrificed themselves to protect you, thus the circle is the outer shape, from an outsider that wanted to kill you." with a shaky hand a line was drawn from the circle's edge, bisecting the triangle's bottom and connecting to the top point.

Whatever Bill had drawn, had to be important. Harry could see that both of the brothers were mildly disturbed, though Bill hid it better than Charlie. For the first time today he could clearly smell the emotions of another and it made him squirm. They were unintentionally marking themselves as prey, as something afraid, of something...vulnerable.

"I gather that this shape… symbol is important?" Harry asked after he took a calming breath.

"For some it is, but not quite in this form. Your mother's genius lies in adapting it for her own need. However I think I'll let you discover what that means yourself. It's...outlandish enough that it'd be best you came to understand it on your own." Bill said still staring at his drawing and after a moment glancing at Charlie, who nodded in approval, continued speaking.

"We will add some books to the clothes we will have to buy. Do you want to learn more about this?" Bill gestured to the drawing.

"Yes." Harry answered instantly. "And blood magic, this ties into that, right?"

After a few moments of deliberation, both brother agreed, even if only begrudgingly.

"We are so dragging you through the mud with Occlumency, if you want to do this and not get caught." Charlie muttered, admitting defeat.

He would not deny the young wizard his apparent birthright. However, if the teen wanted to do this behind the Ministry's back his mind would have to be the strongest it could get. He'd need to fool everyone until Harry had grown enough that antagonizing him would be foolish, at best. But it also meant they would also have to improve to teach Harry more effectively.

Charlie had the sudden urge to bang his head against the table. That was far more work than he had signed up for. Still, profesional pride demanded he do what he agreed to, even if it was more complicated than he first thought.

"We will teach you anything we can, but slack off and there will be hell to pay Weasley style!" Bill said grimly with a small smile. The sheer difference between the rather cheerful man and his sudden stoic, grim mood made the slumbering predator inside of Harry more than a touch wary. In a smooth move Bill snatched up the journal before tearing out the page and setting it on fire, allowing the ashes to drift away.

Harry watched the older redhead burn the page and a sudden feeling settled into his stomach, that maybe he had bit off more than he could chew. With a breath he shook his head, no more weakness.

"Bring it on." Harry boldly exclaimed, sitting straighter.

Seeing as they still had a few hours before they had to meet Claire, Bill and Charlie figured it'd be best for them to see a bit more of park, considering they'd be staying there for an extended period of time and there were no crowds at the moment. Harry acted as a tour guide, having spent two days in it before his accidental animagus transformation.

* * *

When the time of their meeting with Claire approached the trio of wizards headed towards the Park's steakhouse. It was their standing meeting point, agreed upon by Charlie and Claire, with no small amount of input from Owen.

The cool air of the temperature controlled restaurant hit the wizards as they entered and moved towards the only occupied table.

It took only a small whiff and Harry's attention was instantly focused on the man; sprawled out on the leather sofa that wound around the table. His face bore three long, diagonal cuts, one of them just missing his eye. They were quite fresh, if the visible stitches and slight weeping were any indication.

"So, you're the kid that's got everyone shitting themselves, huh?" Owen was studying the teen just as closely as he was being studied. The intensity of the green eyed gaze, something in it angry and...hungry, made sure he intimately remembered when the I-Rex almost crushed him during her initial break out. Owen had no doubt the boy could turn into another one of those massive killing machines.

Without breaking eye contact, he shifted his posture. Not straightening up, per se, but rather adopting a lazy, easy confidence, but making sure that he exuded the same aura of ready violence and motion that he used to keep his girl's in line.

The staring match, somewhat awkward in its length to the rest of group, had the Weasley twins and Claire shift somewhat nervously. Doubly so when they noticed Harry had fully drawn himself up, his eyes occasionally taking on a more reptilian cast.

Claire just entwined her fingers, leaning a bit over the table and resting her chin against her fingers. She smiled knowingly, to be honest she was quite curious what would happen if Owen lost that particular staring contest. Obviously, she doubted he would, but it was an interesting thought nonetheless.

Bill looked at Charlie, brow raised in question.

"It would seem we will have to curb this particular bit of behavior." Charlie spoke quietly as he shuffled closer to his brother. "It'll hardly do him any good, if the first thing Harry does with unfamiliar people is try and assert dominance."

Harry's hands flexed and Charlie, who had a better angle, saw the kid's fingernails blackening and lengthening. He acted quickly and decisively, with one step he was by Harry's side and put a firm arm around his left shoulder, pushing him towards a chair.

"Sit down Harry and relax, this is not the time and place for a dick measuring contest." his voice was even and confident, still he had to held back a cringe at the audible, and rather inhuman, growl the teen released.

The young wizard closed his eyes as he sat down, took a breath and shook his head. Whatever set him off was still hanging around, it was something about the smell of the other man…something familiar. What's worse was that it was tugging at instincts half buried. Bits and piece of his mind and body not quite remaining in sync, thanks to his now mammalian biology.

"You should not have done that, we're gonna have to finish this sooner or later." Owen almost groaned. He had an idea what was happening, thanks in part to the comment from the red headed man. Still, his bones were screaming at him that what just happened was going to, most likely literally, bite him in the ass one day.

"You boys are not going to fight it out in the restaurant, just so we're clear." Claire's tone broke no argument. Harry, fueled by a mix of teenage desire to agree with a pretty lady and honest chivalry, settled down into a slight sulk. Owen just rubbed the bridge of his nose and agreed.

"We are here to discuss your living arrangements in detail and the possibility of allowing you, Harry, to interact with Owen's raptor pack."

All adults seated around would swear they saw a light bulb go off inside the teen's head.

"So that's it. The Indominus is part raptor. And you think you're an alpha." Harry snorted as his mind quickly labeled the familiar-but-not scent as the smell of a raptor; at least the smell of the larger breed ones. With his mind having something to work on, his earlier behavior was almost forgotten. Another deeper whiff told him more, now that he knew what he was smelling.

"And they are all… female?"

"Indeed, that's going to be a problem?" The raptor trainer asked leaning forward, putting his hands on the table.

"I'm not sure…" Harry could say at least that much honestly. "Probably less of a problem than you thinking you're in charge." Harry flashed Owen a toothy grin. One that was a bit too toothy to be fully human, at that.

"Great, another one…" Owen just lightly slammed his head into the table. Looking up, he found Bill Weasley. "I'm still gonna punch you for before. That was...not fun. But I won't say it wasn't effective. Still, I ain't fighting the kid. Not unless you can pull something like that out of your ass again."

That prompted a somewhat relaxed talk about Owen's introduction to the wonders of magic. Soon after the steaks were brought in for them with red wine for everybody, although Harry only got half of what his elders did, if only because 'corruption of a minor' wasn't exactly a charge they wanted to deal with on top of all the other crap coming their way. To no one's surprise the young wizard devoured every scrap of meat on his plate and asked for a second, this one nice and bloody, please.

As the meal progressed the topics shifted to more professional talk. Owen and Charlie were deep in discussion on animal behavior, which drew Harry in, the animagus supplying answers and tidbits of insights here and there. If nothing else, he'd confess that hunting was at least as much fun as quidditch.

Bill and Claire were stuck on the organizational side of things.

Almost an hour later the five people were in jeeps, riding towards the Indominus enclosure.

Strangely out of all of them, Harry was probably the most nervous. It was one thing to roam around in the jungle in his other form, but being inside an actual paddock and observed by other people? It did not sit well with him. Added to that was his worry about how Pale-Mother was going to react…a lot was riding on that, too.


	7. Chapter 7: A new path

**AN:** One word... Finally! This took way too much time to write and post, but real life hit hard. I'm still in a "low" as far as mood goes, so the work on the next chapter goes very slowly. I just hope my mood has not influenced the quality too much. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

When she awoke her fears were realized. The humans had put her back into the walled off terrain her Green-Eyes told her the two legs called a paddock. She took a breath and was assaulted with familiar, though faded, scents. Calmly she stood up and camouflaged, assessing her body and she shook the last vestiges of sleep from her long, powerful limbs. There was no trace of the itchiness she associated with the thing she clawed out during her escape. She snorted, it was foolish of them. What hunter gives up such an obvious advantage?

Her hatchling had explained to her how humans probably used it to track her, although how exactly they achieved that, went over her head. Nonetheless, it was a powerful tool.

Tools… a concept her young one explained to her in depth. It allowed her to at least understand how such weaklings managed to be so dominant. She glanced down at her clawed hands. In the wild she had no need for tools, but here? In her prison? Maybe… she had escaped once, they would probably learn from it. However, she had too.

First thing, Pale-Mother carefully stalked around, trying to see if anything was different. To her shock, it was;, although not in the way she expected.

The wall was _lower_ and she had the feeling the paddock was larger _._ To use her hatchlings words, at least by half in both cases. It was obviously counter-intuitive, even from her perspective. Her eyes narrowed, this bore investigating. As she came closer to the wall she had to amend her thoughts. Not all sections of the wall was lower, remaining as high as around the large gate and the viewing room as it had been initially.

When she was close enough to touch the wall she realized that, if she wanted to, she could gaze beyond it. And that meant she could probably climb over the wall easily…

Taking a few steps back, allowing her to build up a running start, she jumped.

Only to bounce back and, unbalanced, land painfully on her side; roaring in dismay and fury, scaring, especially the human, in hearing range. Stretched out on her side, she glared in silent ragel at the top of the wall. The Indominus couldn't understand what had happened. Except…

She stood up again and carefully stretched herself to scrape her head against the top edge of the wall. There was a strange, almost irritating, tingling that grew in intensity the closer her muzzle got to the edge. Like thorns scratching along her scales; the feeling triggered something in her memories. Her hatchling did something similar the very first time they meet.

" _Magic…"_ The growl was still full of anger. Magic was a force her Green-Eyes also tried explaining to her and, as he put it, if something unexplained happened it was probably magic.

She needed to know more then.

Looking around she picked up a stick - for her at least it was a stick - and hurled it towards the wall. It cleared the concrete without anything happening, beside the a surge of panicked and angry shouts coming from a number of humans beyond the wall.

"What is she doing?" Simon asked, standing inside the viewing room. The visibility wasn't that great; but they had begun to correct their previous design errors in the time they had. The trees were thinned out in the paddock in close proximity to the room and fully cut down between the room and the main gate, ensuring an unobstructed line of sight in that direction.

"She is testing the wards we raised." Albus said in clear astonishment, before turning towards the other man. "You didn't tell us she is that intelligent."

"We had suspicions the moment Dr. Wu told us everything about her. Some we confirmed when you showed up the first time." Simon's brows were furrowed. The I-Rex was learning and that just raised her risk factor by quite significant margin.

For the the next half an hour the workers that were under ironclad NDA - that doubled as a magically binding contract, even if they didn't know it - along with Simon Masrani and Albus Dumbledore were greeted to a sight of a pale dinosaur rubbing along the walls and occasionally throwing small logs over it.

Eventually, after the I-Rex had finished its explorations, both men were forced to focus on the hybrid as she stomped up to the viewing room. For a moment the two parties stared at each other, Pale-Mother roaring in challenge as she stepped even closer.

In the past she had tried to attack the room with her claws straight on, which yielded less than satisfying results, for her at least. This time around she choose a more tactful approach. Grabbing one of the reinforcing bars in her teeth, she pulled. It appeared to be quite painful for the determined dino, but with a loud shearing noise the metal gave; Pale Mother stumbling backwards, metal in mouth, at the sudden lack of resistance.

Inside Albus and Masrani took a few steps back in shock, the window frame had bent and the reinforced glass buckled and cracked.

"Reparo!" The old wizard calmly, and rather sternly, intoned with a swish of his wand and the damaged section of the room's wall repaired itself; the bar that was pulled off flying back, smacking the pale hybrid on her arm on its way up from the ground and drawing an angry snarl from her lip less maw.

Simon reached for a small head set that was lying around on a small table sat at the back wall. "Can someone release the bull? Now?!" There was a clear displeasure in his voice, having ordered the thing released almost five minutes ago.

It was something that Charlie suggested and Owen approved. Giving her live prey instead of feeding the I-Rex with a crane, something that could fight back to a degree. Simon could see wisdom in trying to satisfy the hybrid's hunting instincts. It was costly as they had to ship the bulls from mainland but their other alternative was feeding her live dinosaurs and that would have been even more costly. And, as per the sponsorship contract with Dumbledore, they had to refrain from using lethal force on both Indominus Rexes. So that left Simon - and by extension Claire and Owen - with the only option of making the adult Indominus as content as was possible.

Simon's gaze was drawn to the bright form of the Chianina bull that just rushed into the paddock from a small side gate that had been added for this purpose. It was disgruntling to see such a magnificent animal being sent to slaughter. Nonetheless, it seemed to work as both men saw the attention of the adult Indominus shift.

Pale Mother heard the mechanical sound of a gate opening, turning towards the new sound with great interest, and was surprised when the scent of live prey hit her. She was so used to being fed carcasses by the thing with metal ropes while she was inside the paddock, that for a moment she stood still wondering what new trickery was this.

The prey animal was obviously agitated as it moved around, tossing its head in her direction, breathing loudly.

In the end, her hunger won over her caution and she moved towards the bull. In this enclosed space she could throw caution to the wind and just charge forward. She got the surprise of her life when she saw the light coated prey with horns lower its head and run straight at her. At the last moment she stepped to the side, out of the way of the horns, and twisting closed her jaws on the bulky neck of her prey, quickly silencing the terrified bellow of the animal.

While not as satisfying as some of the kills she made with Green-Eyes, the taste of fresh prey made up for that. Soon enough very little was left of the bull, and not really interested in what was left, she moved once again in the direction of the viewing room. Camouflaged, she was intent on doing some observing of her own.

* * *

Harry and his company arrived around the time when the bull was released. The first thing the young wizard did was glance over the paddock.

"What's with the wall? It's kind of low and what's with the different heights?" Those were the young wizard's first words after he jumped out of the jeep. "And you realize that with more than half the wall so low, Pale Mother can jump over it, right?"

The animagus snorted in amusement when he saw all of the adults cringe at what he called the Indominus. It was Bill who broke the awkward silence by clearing his throat.

"The wall was redesigned to allow for quick expansion of area inside and with a Pasture Ward in mind, a quick, simple ward if you want to keep out unwanted animals and your herd in. Also the height differs so the ward line is far away enough from the muggle electronics."

"Anyway, let's go." Owen finally got over the fact that the kid was apparently calling the I-Rex of all things, mother… he was never going to get used to that. And if the glance at the others was telling him anything, they shared his feelings on that.

Their group of five moved swiftly through the gravel cowered ground, and then up the stairs leading to the viewing room, where they were greeted by Simon and Albus. Harry was not really interested in the small talk the adults indulged in and went straight up to the viewing window. His green eyes scanned the tree riddled paddock, as he unconsciously clenched and unclenched his fists in his nervousness.

"You wanna go in?" It was Owen again, although all of them could tell how much he struggled to say those words. "She's pissed right now."

The last statement was confirmed by a short "Very" spoken by Masrani and a nod from the aged Headmaster.

"She will not hurt me, if that's what you are concerned about." The adults had to admit, the conviction in the young wizard's voice was admirable. "And you may want to wait a day or three before you start panicking about me not changing back, she will probably be very... clingy. So how do we do this?"

Charlie and Owen almost simultaneously sighed, leave it to the kid to give them a headache.

"Come on then, I'll show you the entrance." Apparently this had now become Owen's show as he once again took lead.

Both of them left the viewing room and had to walk a bit, quickly reaching the newly redesigned maintenance entrance. Briefly, the raptor trainer experienced a flash back to the moment he crossed those doors for the first time. However, he noted, with critical eyes, the new addition in the form of a safety "air lock" similar to what they had in the raptor pen entrance.

"Ok. Listen up! When you get in I want you to put your hand on the pad near the other door. It will scan your hand so you will be able to open them yourself, later on." As he was talking he slid a key card into a slot on the outer, steel bar doors of the cage's lock. There was a brief buzz and the light indicating the lock's status went green. "For the peace of mind of everyone involved the outer door can only be opened by a key card that you will be _not_ getting. Charlie and Bill have one each. It's all electronic so no magicking your way out. If the lock fries you're stuck until we can fix it. If the card fries, you're stuck until we can replace or it, so no summoning it either... or whatever you call it."

"Anything else?" Harry said with, a small amused smirk threatening to break out across his face. He had a feeling that what the older man was talking about were all token efforts, as he was pretty certain that if he wanted to he could get out. The best part was, judging by his body language and tone, Owen himself didn't put too much faith in the new security measures, be they mundane or magical.

"Don't maul or eat anyone else, yeah, that's kind of important."

Owen winced at the glare that stole over Harry's face. "Look, kid, I didn't mean-"

"Yeah, you did. I killed a guy. I get it. It's not my first and I doubt it'll be my last. So just drop it and I'll try not to eat anyone. Ok?"

Harry cringed at the reminder of the unfortunate ACU member he had killed on his first day as a dinosaur animagus. And while he was perfectly happy not thinking about it, the memories of fabric and flesh tearing, hot blood in his mouth, it was all… there. In the back of his head, he knew what people tasted like, and that would never go away.

The steel doors closed behind him with a bang, making him jump. Harry hadn't even realized he walked inside.

"Good luck kid." With that Owen began walking away, presumably towards the viewing room.

Taking a deep breath, the young animagus walked toward the inner door and did as instructed. After a few seconds, and a quiet beep, the metal door slid open with a hiss. He took a few steps into the paddock before the feeling of being watched assaulted him. The doors closing automatically made him turn his head briefly.

"Right…" He murmured. Having a vague idea of what to do next, Harry closed his eyes and allowed the animagus magic to wash over him. It was still disturbing to feel his body change so dramatically, it was getting easier, but…

" _Green-Eyes! The humans captured you too? Did they hurt you?"_ The roar was surprisingly full of care to his own dinosaur senses. He just managed to turn his muzzle toward the direction she was coming from, before he was bowled over with an indigent squawk as Pale Mother began nuzzling along his body looking for any signs of harm.

" _I'm fine! I'm here of my own will."_

" _You always say you're fine!"_

Up in the viewing room the six adults watched the reunion with expression ranging from highly amused to disturbed.

"I'm seeing this... but I'm still finding it hard to believe… She's... quite gentle with him." Claire whispered, not used to seeing the Indominus expressing anything but hatred and bloodlust. Until, that is, the adult hybrid pinned the smaller one, not that gently, and started roaring and growling. "Is she… scolding him?"

"Knowing Harry? Probably." Charlie chuckled as he furiously wrote in a book he had produced from… somewhere. Almost like magic, Claire thought, wincing at the terrible joke she'd kept in her head..

" _Alright enough already!"_ Harry finally growled and swiped at the annoying muzzle that kept prodding him. His eyes widened and both of them stopped, seeing three thin red lines appear on Pale Mother's snout. " _Soo… I'll check out the paddock!"_

He bolted.

" _Get back here hatchling!"_

What followed was a mock hunt and fight, with Harry being more often than not tossed around like a leaf on the wind. It lasted well into the afternoon and by the time Harry submitted and admitted, defeat both hybrids were tired; resting in a spot well obscured by underbrush, Pale Mother having designated this their nest in the enclosure.

Busy licking his wounds, Harry listened to the slow breathing of the adult dinosaur. Their play time was rough, probably lethal to anything that wasn't an I-Rex, but he hadn't realized how much he missed it. It also made him realize that he had totally forgotten the fact that they were probably observed, maybe even recorded, the whole time. Also he was quite certain that due to confined space, boredom would soon settle in.

That there might be a few… issues because of that was his last thought before he settled down to catch some sleep.

* * *

The next morning came too soon in Harry's opinion and, adding to that, it was his rumbling stomach that woke him. Feeling his belly ache and still half asleep, he was one annoyed dinosaur. Taking care of his morning business, it only just occurred to him that there could be someone watching.

The young animagus turned his snout in the direction of the viewing room, currently slightly obscured by the trees. It would seem he was deeply in sync with his instincts again, modesty being a non issue. Out of curiosity, he would have to time himself some day to see how long it took for the Indominus' instincts to fully emerge or fade after each change.

For now though, he move towards the tantalizing smell of still somewhat fresh prey.

Up in the observation room, Charlie had set up camp; a comfortable fishing chair he bought from a muggle store, a low table provided by the company and his trusty, enchanted sleeping bag and backpack filling out his makeshift bunk room.

He was observing Harry's behavior through a specially prepared set of omnioculars, a kind used by dragon handlers and _more_ than capable of seeing in a half dozen spectrum's, while noting down his observations; jumping slightly when he heard the door open.

"You know, when you said you found them fascinating it never occurred to me you would set up camp _here._ " Bill's voice carried a great deal amusement. "Your breakfast, by the way."

Charlie was distracted yet again when the heavenly scent of coffee, scrambled eggs, and bacon reached his nose. With a flourish, his oldest brother sat a tray down on the low table.

"I'm just trying to get an idea of their baseline behavior. It's fascinating, and a touch disturbing, how at ease Harry already is in this form. I know that animagi can grow to connect with their animal form to the degree they're utterly indistinguishable from the creature they've turned into. But, and this is a _big_ but, that's supposed to take years, as the animagus' mind learns to not to question every new instinct and act on, or at least acknowledge, them instead."

"Blood magic was involved, remember? It's only natural that it will tie the wizard closer to his animal side." Bill mused as he moved closer to the glass, looking out into the paddock.

"Anyways my ramblings aside, got that lesson plan figured out?"

"Pretty much, take a look." The oldest Weasley turned around and handed his brother a folded sheet of parchment.

Charlie opened it, and looked over what his brother had deemed 'vital'.

"Martial arts? Really? How do you even plan on teaching him that?"

"There's a guy in that specially formed ACU dedicated to those two that wanted to test himself against Harry after he got filled in on the details. Apparently he knows something called Karate."

"Still can't believe we're announcing that magic exists left, right, and center." Bill murmured as he continued reading.

"Don't worry, Dumbledore and I went over the new employment contracts and added some minor secrecy curses and spells, even making some key words in them Taboos so we know, if we did a poor job of making the contracts do their thing. On top of that Clair, Owen, and Simon know how and when to keep silent on important matters. So we should be ok. Most likely."

It almost made Charlie snort how Bill talked about casually placing Taboos on words, it was a tricky bit of magic on the best of days and, while not exactly illegal, it was kept from being so solely by virtue of the sheer obscurity of the magic involved.

"I'm really hoping that all this effort will be worth it in the long run."

"Look on the bright side, it's not you being forced into this lesson plan." The curse breaker joked, snatching the lesson plan from his brother's hands and shooing the man back over to his breakfast. "Now eat, before it gets cold."

"Yes, mother." Charlie's quip was met with a fast strike to the head with the rolled up lesson plan, leaving both brothers grinning and chuckling.

Down in the paddock Harry was finishing his breakfast, composed of what was left of the bull. As he licked his muzzle clean he began wandering around, examining the enclosure.

Not an hour later, he began to understand why Pale Mother wanted to escape.

By the end of the day, even with Pale Mother serving as a great distraction and them having had several short talks, Harry began to plan his escape just to kill their boredom. At some point his muzzle bore a wide, toothy grin.

" _Pale Mother… Seeing as we can't hunt or wander, I was thinking. Let's play a game with the humans."_

The adult Indominus lazily opened one eye, she had been close to falling asleep in their nesting area.

" _What game?"_ Even her whisper made the ground rumble.

" _Let's see, if we can't escape?"_ He was probably asking for a prank war with the Weasley brothers just by suggesting it. But he was a bored teenager with energy to burn.

Pale Mother's downright evil chuckle was not something a human would have wanted to hear.

The next morning, Bill was suddenly woken up by an annoying buzz centered around his left wrist. He shot up when his mind realized that it was the signal for something breaching the pasture ward.

"Lumos!" His wand lit up on the bedside table. A little known fact, there were actually a few spells that could be cast through the wand while not holding it; just one of the many strange quirks of magic.

The spell light made it possible for him to quickly locate his clothes, the sun was just barely sliding over the horizon and not providing enough light to see by. His first thought was to just run for Bill. But, after mulling it over for a bit, decided that discretion was the better option. Probably. At least, compared to sounding the alarm on another possible containment breach, Masrani had grown… twitchy as of late. So, after he was dressed and, with wand in hand, quickly cast a Disillusionment charm on himself before stepping out of the small, single story bungalow that had been constructed for them on site.

While he knew that doors opening by themselves would be suspicious, Charlie didn't have many choices, not wanting to take any risks should the worst have happened.

Bill tried to step as lightly as possible on the gravel covered ground, wincing when the small pebbles crunched loudly. More worryingly was that in the the dim light of the early morning he couldn't spot any sign of either Indominus. The resident Master Warder was certain it was one of the hybrids trying something, and he would eat his wand if it wasn't Harry.

He was about to reach out for the railing of the stairs leading up to the observation room when something swept his legs from beneath him. Just as his back painfully met the gravel, he felt a heavy, and more importantly clawed, foot pushing against his chest; claws slightly digging into skin his, each leaving a small, bloody dot. The oldest Weasley brother got an eyeful of a teeth filled maw; unpleasantly dripping with drool. But the most gut wrenching aspect of the situation was the fetid stench of rotten meat and cloying blood billowing from his assailant's mouth with every exhale the smaller hybrid made.

"Good Merlin, Harry, your breath stinks!" It was the only thing he could say, his mind refusing to properly process the precarious position he was in. The only thing keeping him from having a full blown panic attack was the - for him easily recognizable - mischievousness in those green eyes.

In a moment, instead of the hybrid dinosaur, stood a young wizard with his boot resting on the older man's chest and a shit eating grin shining in the night.

"Maybe, but you're still dead." Harry's smug grin was wiped from his face when a length of thick rope bound him tightly, making him fall over with a grunt.

"And you got caught." Charlie said from the top of the stairs, walking down as he spoke and still aiming his wand at Harry. "Always pay attention to your surroundings, don't gloat. Anyway, what should we do with this one, oh brother mine?" The dragon handler ominously asked as he helped his older brother stand up.

As Bill dusted himself off and gingerly checked out the small puncture wounds on his chest, he glanced at the young animagus who was still grinning slightly. They would have to make Harry tell them how he escaped.

"What would you say to an early breakfast?"

"An excellent idea, come on then. And no changing, Harry, or we will stun you and drop you off in the enclosure." Charlie said waving his wand to levitate the bound boy in front of him, as the brothers began to walk towards their new house.

"I didn't hear you casting Charlie." Harry finally asked, realizing he was not getting out of the ropes. On a side note, the young wizard thought that being bound and levitated was a slightly uncomfortable experience.

"Silent casting. Dead useful, but they don't teach it until sixth year. Also, it takes a lot of practice and only really works with spells you're really familiar with."

"Speaking of spells, how did you escape?" Bill asked as he held the doors open for his brother and their charge.

Harry was greeted by a mostly unfurnished room that had an open kitchen area to his left, two doors on his right, and one more door just behind the kitchen area. The wall in front of him, what he supposed was the back of the house, was made up of large windows and what looked like sliding doors with a view on a small patch of grass that abruptly transitioned into proper jungle.

"The ward didn't stop me from crossing." Harry shrugged, while it was not as easy as he made it sound that was basically it. When Pale Mother allowed him to climb her, as he couldn't jump that high yet, he tried to just cross it… He was totally unprepared when he was met with resistance, but not the solid wall like the adult Indominus described. For him it felt like walking through molasses, the unexpected feeling almost costing him his balance and nearly making him fall.

"That's unexpected." Bill said as he moved towards the kitchen area, and turned just in time to see his brother magically stick their young charge to a wall, close to the table. Also, apparently, he had a new puzzle to solve.

"Uh, could you let me go now?"

"Nope." Charlie said getting the water going for coffee.

What followed was a highly uncomfortable half an hour of Harry helplessly watching the eldest Weasley brothers prepare, eat, and vocally praising their deliciously smelling, full english breakfast.

Harry was released from his bindings after the older wizards finished cleaning the dishes.

"That was cruel, you know." The black haired wizard grumbled while he stretched, eyeing them both with a degree of… not malevolence, per se. But there was definitely something that told both brothers they best be on the lookout for any future unpleasantness.

"Have an apple as consolation." Charlie tossed said fruit at Harry over the counter that separated the kitchen area from living area; to no one's surprise the boy caught it expertly.

"Geee, thanks." Grumpiness aside, food was food, so Harry didn't waste the opportunity and ate it promptly.

"Don't worry, I'll get started on something meaty for you, while Bill explains about what we have planned for you." Charlie suppressed a wince when he remembered a bit of what they'd guessed about Harry's childhood. What would have been an awkward and annoying thirty minutes for one of the Weasley brothers was probably the kind of thing that would grate against Harry's newly empowered temper.

Mollified, Harry went to join Bill who was still nursing his coffee by the low, glass table that stood by the far wall, with three rattan armchairs arranged around it. As he sat, he was quite surprised by the squeaking sounds the armchair made.

"So Harry, this is what we came up with. Read it and gave me a honest opinion." Bill handed him a piece of rolled up parchment, which Harry quickly read over.

The brothers proposed schedule made his eyes widen slightly. They wanted him to do an hour of physical exercise each morning. Following that, from Monday till Friday the plan was three hours of theory lessons immediately followed by practice of different subjects on each day. In the afternoon another hour of theory, followed by another practice session. There was also an hour reserved for additional physical exercises at the end of those five days.

"I get Runes, I said it would be interesting to know just what my mum did. But why is there Arithmancy in the list of subjects? And didn't you say something about Occlumency or something?" Harry asked, looking up from the parchment to see Charlie standing behind Bill and just noticing the enticing smells spreading from the kitchen.

"Arithmancy, at the very least the basics, are needed for when you are about to screw up while designing runic circles. Anyways, you'll be fine, it can get about as complicated as muggle Secondary math classes. Now, if you take to it and are good enough I'll consider something more advanced."

After giving it some thought, Harry nodded in agreement.

"As for Occlumency, that's going to be mostly on you. We can show you and guide you through first steps and later evaluate your progress, but this, more than anything else, will require discipline and self control. And it will not be easy. We're going to probably have to talk about things you would likely keep to yourself normally. If not with us, then with someone else you trust. I'm also going to get my hands on a batch of mild calming and sleeping potions, in case you ever need them."

That made Harry exhale slowly.

"What exactly will I have to do, that would require those?"

"Conquer your worst memories, so to speak. If you can go through your worst experiences being highly objective, get to the root of the emotions, and understand what drives those emotions, you will be a a step closer to being a master of your own mind." Bill explained, his face rather somber.

"I don't like this." Was Harry's short answer. The last thing he wanted to do in his time away from Dursley's was reliving memories of that hell hole. Because if he was honest with himself, those made up the majority of his worst memories. And as he aged he was beginning to understand how a person can hurt another without even laying a finger on them. The memories of his misadventures at Hogwarts were, in comparison, far easier to deal with.

"You don't have to like it, you just have to get good at it. Nobody said it's going to be easy or pleasant. Now then, go eat breakfast, and after that we will quiz you about what we remember from Hogwarts first three years. After that I'll see what you can do with that wand of yours." Bill stood up as he spoke, quickly making the couple of steps to reach him and patting Harry reassuringly on the shoulder. "I'm going to adjust the ward, I think I know why you could escape. If it takes me too long, start without me Charlie."

"Sure thing." Charlie said, moving towards kitchen again, this would require some extra coffee. "Come on the Harry, I made you some nice steak tartare. I picked up a nice recipe in Romania, I think you'll love it."

Feeling the heavy mood lifting, Harry's stomach growled at the mention of meat, making the boy smile sheepishly. A good meal was a good way to start brightening his mood for what promised to be a long day.


End file.
